GM Sets February Sales Record in China - Domestic Market Now Appears Second Rate!

[xcel]

With essentially flat GM sales in the US last month, GM China sales are showing explosive growth.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - March 6, 2012

One very large word, Buick.

GM and its joint ventures sold 240,554 cars and trucks in China in February, setting a record for the month. This level of sales bests its Domestic February 2012 Sales (209,306 vehicles sold) by 14.9%!

Chinese GM Sales rose 30.4 percent from February 2011 and were the third highest for any month in GM’s history in China.

All three of GM’s primary manufacturing joint ventures set February records as well. Shanghai GM’s domestic sales rose 31.8 percent year on year to 103,097 units; SAIC-GM-Wuling’s sales in China increased 28.7 percent on an annual basis to 130,193 units, and FAW-GM’s sales in the domestic market were up 39.2 percent year on year to 7,068 units.

Buick

Buick sales rose 31.1 percent on an annual basis to 52,773 units, a record for the month. Compare that to the 14,023 Buick’s sold in the US last month and you have reason to believe in the Chinese miracle with over 376% more Buick’s sold there than here!
Leading the way for the brand was the Excelle family, which registered a jump in demand of 70.7 percent from February 2011 to 23,564 units. It was followed by the Excelle XT and GT, which had sales growth of 70.3 percent to 11,890 units.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet sales in China rose 23.7 percent on an annual basis to an all-time February high of 52,407 units. Sales of the Cruze increased 36.1 percent from the same month in 2011 to 20,662 units. New Sail sales rose 34.1 percent on an annual basis to 14,184 units. The Malibu, which launched on Feb. 15, got off to a solid start with sales of 3,333 units.

Cadillac

Sales of the Cadillac brand were up 6.6 percent year on year to 2,124 units – a record for the luxury brand in February. It was led by the popular SRX luxury utility vehicle, which had sales of 1,527 units.

Chevrolet and Cadillac US sales far outdistanced the Chinese affiliates (151,197 vs. 52,407 and 11,505 vs. 2,124 vehicles respectively) but Chinese sales are growing whereas here in the US Cadillac was down 27% and Chevrolet registered just a 5.8% gain.

Wuling and Baojun

Sunshine minivan sales were 50,950 while the entire Wuling brand sold 117,969 units in China. This represented an increase of 24.5 percent from the second month of 2011 and was an all-time February high. The Baojun brand had sales of 8,017 units in its first February in the market.

In the first two months of 2012, GM and its joint ventures sold a record 487,208 cars and trucks in China, an increase of 7.7 percent from the same period last year. This also eclipses January and February US sales of 377,268 by a 29.1% margin!

Political Rant

Any politician that believes the Keystone pipeline can lower fuel costs in the US does not quite have the facts. It will be used as 1. A tax dodge to move Canadian oil out of the country and 2. To sell energy to an ever more demanding energy market outside the US at a far greater rate than our own domestic demand is falling.

[herm]

"Any politician that believes the Keystone pipeline can lower fuel costs in the US does not quite have the facts. It will be used as 1. A tax dodge to move Canadian oil out of the country and 2. To sell energy to an ever more demanding energy market outside the US at a far greater rate than our own domestic demand is falling."

I guess the Texas refineries manufacturing refined oil products for domestic and export does not count as Made in the USA. Those d*mn Canadians should refine their own oil.

[xcel]

Hi Herm:

Just like the East Coast Refinery's that are now out of business as of this year?

The oil from the Keystone was to be refined and turned over to the world market with a much lower tax rate than it experiences today. It has little to do with supplying the "domestic" market, it has everything to do with "to the highest bidder no matter where in the world (and we are those that will bid) at the most profit". You cannot blame the majors for pushing this tactic but in the end, the average American and Canadian consumer will not benefit a single dollar (it will cost us more in reduced tax revenue) for providing the rights to letting it go for almost free. At least from my little vantage point and small window to the world anyway???

Who is going to fuel the entire fleet of Buick's in China? Anybody and everybody that can produce. Kind of funny how automotive growth and desire will make the world a lot more expensive place to live in for everyone?

Wayne

[herm]

still. refining in Texas with foreign crude counts as manufacturing in the US.. the Chinese will also be happy to refine it since they also have refineries that can handle sour crude, probably state subsidized. You cant export American crude.