General Motors Says Vehicle Sales in China Set Record in First Half of Year

BEIJING July 6, 2005; The AP reported that General Motors Corp. said Wednesday its sales in China jumped 18.9 percent in the first half of this year to a record 308,722 vehicles.

The announcement suggested that China's auto market has started to rebound after slowing sharply last year.

GM said it expects sales to pick up further in the second half of the year with the launch of new models, including Cadillacs and Buicks targeting wealthy buyers.

Foreign automakers are investing billions of dollars in China, one of the world's fastest-growing auto markets in recent years.

"We think this year's going to be another strong year," Kevin Wale, GM China Group president and managing director, told Dow Jones Newswires.

"We expect growth to be between 10 percent and 15 percent, and we expect growth to continue at that level for quite some time, which under any international standards is a phenomenal rate of development," Wale said.

"I see the Chinese market developing in a very similar way to every other major car market in the world -- except about five times faster."