General Motors has posted a near-70% leap in first-quarter vehicle sales in China, in a market that grew about 45% in the same period, the company said.

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General Motors Corp sold 122,097 vehicles in the first three months of 2004 from several ventures across the country, an increase of 69.9%, it said in a statement posted on its Chinese website and cited by Reuters.


The news agency said that should help the Detroit-based carmaker grab market share from rivals, especially Volkswagen – the country’s pre-eminent car maker with a commanding 33% of sales at the end of 2003.


Volkswagen posted a rise in China sales of just 5.5% in the January-March period to 170,900 vehicles, Reuters noted.


“We achieved this strong growth in a rapidly growing but extremely competitive marketplace,” GM’s China spokeswoman, Daphne Zheng told Reuters, adding: “We plan to keep up our momentum by continuously expanding our capacity, product line-up and local partnerships.”

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The news agency said GM embarked on an ambitious expansion this year, working with partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp to revive a loss-making venture in the northeast and taking over an engine factory owned formerly by defunct South Korean firm Daewoo.


Reuters noted that the Chinese partner has said GM is expected to see sales rise almost 40% at its venture with Shanghai Auto in 2004 to 280,000 units, from 210,188 the previous year.


A total of 567,000 cars were sold in the country in the first quarter, up 44.5%, according to industry figures, Reuters said.