General Motors sales up, buoyed by Cavalier popularity

General Motors delivered a total of 1,844,396 vehicles in the first half of this year in China, up 4.4 percent year on year, according to a statement published by GM on its official website on Wednesday.

Sales of General Motors and its joint ventures in China totaled 858,344 vehicles in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 0.7 percent compared with the same period last year.

The US automaker said despite the softening of the passenger vehicle market, its brands Cadillac and Baojun achieved record deliveries for the second quarter, while Chevrolet continued to post double-digit growth.

In terms of brand, Cadillac sales rose 19 percent from a year earlier to 48,712 units in the second quarter. Chevrolet grew 22 percent from a year earlier to 131,895 units from April to June. Chevrolet sales were led by their best-selling Cavalier model. Sales of the Cavalier jumped 54 percent to nearly 49,000 vehicles, while Buick deliveries totaled 230,454.

Sales of Baojun rose 6 percent to 198,986 vehicles, and Wuling deliveries achieved a 3.1 percent year-on-year increase to 248,297 vehicles, according to data provided by the company.

In the second half of this year, General Motors is going to launch more models on the China market. The company said it will add 10 new and refreshed models in the second half, two-thirds of the total for the entire year. The focus will be on segments with the strongest customer demand, including sports-utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and luxury cars.