General Motors' joint ventures in China delivered 689,531 vehicles in the third quarter as sales declined 17.5% in the midst of the continued soft vehicle market.
The drop for the quarter ended 30 September was the fifth consecutive quarterly sales decline for GM in China, Reuters reported.
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GM delivered 2.26m vehicles in the first nine months this year, according to Reuters' calculation.
The automaker said it was introducing a record 20 new and refreshed models in China this year with an expanded and improved product mix and has increased its focus on midsize/large SUVs and luxury vehicles to keep up with strong demand in these segments by launching seven new models in the past three months and unveiling three models that are planned for launch in the fourth quarter.
Baojun's all-electric E100 and E200 models went on sale nationwide in the third quarter after becoming popular choices in the cities where they were previously sold. The Velite 6, the first all-electric Buick, will soon launch variants with an increased electric driving range of 410km.
GM's new digital vehicle platform will debut soon in China under the Cadillac CT5 and will gradually be rolled out across all brands.
Cadillac had a record third quarter, with sales increasing 10.9% from a year earlier to 51,049 units. Sales of the CT6 prestige sedan soared 68% to about 6,500 units. The CT5 midsize luxury sedan will be launched this month.
Buick sales fell 20.6% to 199,688 units. Demand for the best-selling model, the Excelle GT sedan, grew 20% to nearly 74,000 units. GL8 sales rose 24% from to about 45,000 units. Deliveries of the Regal sedan exceeded 33,000 units, up 25%.
Chevrolet deliveries totaled 96,808 units. The Monza compact sedan – launched in the first quarter – became the brand's best seller, on sales of about 43,000 units. Sales of the Malibu XL flagship sedan jumped 32%, topping 17,000 units. Chevrolet launched the Tracker followed by the Trailblazer in September and will unveil a large SUV later in 2019.
Baojun deliveries dropped 34.9% to 122,900 units.
Wuling sold 219,086 units, sustaining its leadership in the mini-commercial vehicle segment. The Hong Guang MPV family, its most popular nameplate, is adding the new Hong Guang Plus featuring a larger interior this month.
As GM and Ford China sales extend declines, US car companies' share of total China passenger vehicles sales fell to 9.5% in the first eight months of this year from 10.7% in the year ago period, Reuters said, citing the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Over the same period, German car makers' share has risen to 23.8% from 21.6% and Japanese auto makers' to 21.7% from 18.3%.
