General Motors and its joint venture partners in China reported 421,023 new retail vehicle sales during January 2016, a 7.3 percent increase on a year-over-year basis.
“This year, GM and our joint ventures will continue to offer an unmatched choice of products across market segments along with new services to meet the needs of China’s car buyers,” said GM Executive Vice President and GM China President Matt Tsien. “Our new models, such as the Cadillac CT6 and Chevrolet Malibu XL, will be strong additions to our portfolio.”
Increasing demand for SUVs and luxury vehicles continued to support GM’s robust sales last month. The Buick Envision and Baojun 560 led the growth in sales of GM’s SUVs in January, with demand growing 188 percent-year-over-year.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet sales in January declined 27 percent year-over-year to 56,133 units.
The automaker attributes the drop to the end of the fuel economy subsidy for the Sail. Chevrolet sales are expected to improve with the arrival of several new models in 2016, including the Malibu XL on February 27.
Buick
Buick sales in January grew 39 percent year-over-year to 138,907 units.
Sales of the brand exceeded 130,000 units for the first time, led by the Excelle GT and Envision SUV. Sales of the Envision more than doubled on a year-over-year basis.
Cadillac
Cadillac sales luxury cars increased 16 percent from a year earlier to 8,337 units, making January the sixth consecutive month of double-digit sales growth.
Sales of the ATS-L advanced 14 percent. The Cadillac CT6 full-size prestige sedan is the full-size top-of-the-range prestige sedan was launched on January 27th and is offered at Cadillac dealerships across China. It is first model manufactured at SAIC-GM’s new Cadillac plant in Shanghai.
Baojun
Sales of Baojun vehicles jumped 101 percent from a year earlier to 78,367 units.
The Baojun 730 MPV and Baojun 560 SUV led their respective segments, while the 2016 Baojun 630 family sedan with enhanced styling and upgraded performance was launched at the end of last month at a lower price.
Wuling
Wuling sales in the Chinese domestic market decreased 17 percent from a year earlier in January to 139,227 units. The brand was impacted by continued contraction of the mini-commercial vehicle market.