General Motors sales in China last month were up 25.3% over December 2011, the automaker’s second-best January ever there but the 246,654-vehicle tally, including joint ventures, was down 8% year on year. There were three fewer shopping days as a result of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Shanghai GM passenger car sales totaled 124,073 units, SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 119,948 minivehicles and passenger cars while FAW-GM shifted 2,433 light-duty commercial models.
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Buick sales were “up slightly year on year” to 71,056 units, GM said without providing a comparison. Demand for the ‘original’ (Daewoo Lacetti/Nubira-based) Excelle passenger car line – which set an annual sales record for all domestic passenger vehicle models in 2011 and was the top-selling passenger vehicle industry-wide in China in 2011 – was up 1.9% year on year to 28,680 units.
The newer Opel Astra-based Excelle XT hatchback and GT sedan (new Buick Verano in the US) saw growth of 21.1% to 19,787 units.
Chevrolet sales in China totaled 54,399 units, led again by the Cruze sedan, which had sales of 22,711 units, and the Aveo-based New Sail small car family – 18,069 units.
Cadillac sales rose 18.1% year on year to 2,987 units in January headed by the SRX luxury SUV (2,132 units).
Wuling sales of 106,573 units in China were headed by the Sunshine minivan (47,137 units) which ended 2011 as China’s best-selling vehicle for a ninth consecutive year.
In its first January on sale, the first Baojun brand model, the 630, accounted for 9,006 units.
