SHANGHAI (AFP)--Struggling U.S. auto giant General Motors Corp.
(GM) said Monday its joint venture in Shanghai sold its two
millionth Buick in China, as sales have rapidly picked up in recent
years with the country's economic boom.
"It took eight years for Shanghai GM to sell its first one
million Buicks, but only three years to sell its second one million
units," said Kevin Wale, President of GM China, in an e-mailed
statement.
"This demonstrates the ongoing popularity of Shanghai GM's
leading mainstream brand in what is now Buick's largest
market."
The two millionth unit, a red New Regal sedan built by a joint
venture with China's largest automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry
Group, was delivered to its owner in the southern city of
Guangzhou, the statement said.
GM's first Shanghai sales office opened in 1929 and Buick
customers included Pu Yi, the last emperor, revolutionary leader
Sun Yat-sen and late premier Zhou Enlai.
Despite its U.S. parent filing for bankruptcy, GM China has seen
sales hit new highs on strong demand from the nation's increasingly
affluent middle class and incentives to stimulate domestic
consumption.
China overtook the United States to become the world's largest
car market for the first time in January.
And GM chief executive Fritz Henderson has said GM car sales in
China are set to surpass those in the United States this year in a
landmark shift.
GM China is still aiming to double sales to more than two
million units annually and will "probably need to build another
plant in the next five years", Wale said.
GM sales in China jumped 75% in May from a year earlier to a
record monthly high of 156,000. In the first five months, sales
grew 33.8% from the same period a year ago to more than
670,000.