General Motors to Launch New China Chevrolet Models in February

SHANGHAI, China January 17, 2005; Elaine Kurtenbach writing for the AP reported that boosting its lineup in an increasingly competitive market, General Motors Corp. announced Tuesday that it will launch a new series of made-in-China Chevrolets next month.

The new small and mid-size models will roll out in late February and will be sold through a network of 100 dealerships to be set up across China to sell and service the vehicles, GM said in a statement.

GM, the world's biggest automaker, has invested more than US$2 billion (euro1.5 billion) in China since 1998 in joint ventures that now make domestic brands as well as Buick sedans, Chevrolet Blazers, minivans and other models. It claims about 8 percent of China's vehicle market.

GM China expanded its import lineup in 2004 to meet strong demand for premium and luxury vehicles. It introduced the Saab brand in May and the Cadillac a month later.

Up to now, GM has only distributed its Blazer and Spark models under the Chevrolet brand in China.

The automaker now hopes to expand its presence here by targeting the fast-growing small and mid-size market segments which account for 70 percent of all auto sales in China, said Joseph Liu, executive director of vehicle sales, service and marketing for General Motors China Group.

"We identified the need to develop Chevrolet into another popular domestic brand alongside Buick," Liu said in a statement. "As China's rapidly growing number of vehicle buyers become increasingly diverse, they require brands and products that offer different value propositions to meet their individual needs."

Liu said the new Chevrolet lineup would be tailored to meet local customer requirements with the expectation that most buyers would be young professionals aged up to 40 buying a car for personal use.

Last summer, GM announced it would spend US$3 billion (euro2.3 billion) in China over the next three years to challenge rival Volkswagen for dominance of the world's fastest-growing auto market.

Competition has been heating up as China's once sizzling auto market cools. Vehicle sales are forecast to rise about 10 percent this year, compared with 75 percent growth in passenger car sales in 2003 and 15 percent last year.

Shanghai GM, a joint venture between GM and state-run Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (Group), reported that sales in 2004 rose 25.3 percent over a year earlier to 252,053 vehicles.

GM's total sales in China in 2004 rose 27 percent on-year to a record 492,014 units, the automaker reported earlier this month.