GM Posts Increase in China Vehicle Sales
General Motors Co. (GM)’s vehicle sales rose 10 percent last month in China, bucking an estimated drop in overall passenger-car deliveries, after it offered discounts on low-cost minivans in the world’s biggest auto market.
The company sold 220,412 vehicles in China in October, up from 199,641 units a year earlier, the Detroit-based company said in a statement today. The increase outpaced GM’s 1.7 percent sales gain in the U.S. last month and followed a 15 percent rise in Chinese deliveries in September.
The largest U.S. carmaker joined Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) in reporting higher sales in China during October as demand slows in the country, spurring more competition and leading carmakers to deepen incentives. GM, counting on China to overtake Toyota’s global sales this year, introduced discounts on its Wuling light trucks after the government phased out sales-tax breaks and rebates for rural buyers in January.