Shanghai GM Reports 8% Drop In 2008 sales

Shanghai, January 5, 2009: (Gasgoo.com) Shanghai General Motors Co Ltd, a 50:50 venture of General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp (SAIC), said its sales slid by more than 8 percent in 2008.

Sales of its Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Saab brands were 458,642 units in 2008, a 8.33% decline year on year, the automaker announced on Sunday.

Sales of the Chevrolet brand cars, including Aveo, Sail and Lova, soared 13% to 150,000 units in the past year, while sales of its Buick series, another mainstream brand that targets the middle-to-high class market, dropped 10% in the same period. Sales of imported Sabb surged 35.3%.

Shanghai GM crowned the sales list of Chinese carmakers for three consecutive years from 2005 through 2007. The joint venture automaker sold 500,308 cars in 2007, up 22% from a year earlier. However, Shanghai GM's major rival FAW Volkswagon was growing much faster in 2008 with 470,000 vehicles already sold within the first eleven months.

Shanghai GM will introduce some new offerings for the Chinese market in 2009, including the new 2.0L turbocharged Buick Regal and Chevrolet Cruze sedan.

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