GM Nearly Double Industry Growth In Eastern Europe

ZURICH – October 9, 2008: General Motors (GM) Eastern European sales reached a record of 318,245 vehicles from January to September 2008, with a market share of 10.4 percent, strongly outpacing industry growth in the region with a 43 percent increase in volume (versus 23 percent of the industry). GM total volume in all of Europe was down 1.9 percent with sales of 1,620,619 vehicles.

Chevrolet paced the increase with record sales of 385,653 vehicles, up 17 percent, with a market share of 2.2 percent in total Europe. GM’s Eastern Europe results helped offset tough market conditions in Western Europe, where volume was down 10.7 percent, to 1,148,535 vehicles with a 9.2 percent share.

“We are facing an unprecedented set of economic challenges due to the global economic crisis,” said Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe. “The credit crisis and inflation from surging oil and commodities prices have seriously hurt consumer confidence. We’re doing everything that we can to manage this challenging period with a host of new products -- including the new Opel Insignia and the Chevrolet Cruze – and by managing our production and costs as tightly as possible.

“But we also need help from political leaders to turn the situation around. At the EU level, and within political leadership of individual countries, action must be taken to stimulate the economy, relieve the credit crunch, and restore consumer confidence,” added Forster.

“We’re building on two years of consecutive sales records and strong growth for our brands in Europe,” said Brent Dewar, GM Europe vice-president sales, marketing and aftersales. “We’re expanding the portfolio, differentiating the brands and leveraging our breadth of offerings to appeal to diverse customer groups and meet market requirements.”

GM’s aggressive growth strategy for Central and Eastern Europe paying off
GM’s ability to grow in the world’s key emerging markets is fundamental for the success of the company for the long term. Last year, nearly 40 percent of total industry sales came from emerging markets. By 2012, 45 percent of total industry sales are expected to come from emerging markets.

Today, three-quarters of all new vehicles are still delivered in Western Europe, but by 2011, more than one-third of European deliveries will be made in Central and Eastern Europe. The lion’s share of this rising eastern volume will come from Russia, where more than 2.7 million new cars were sold last year. But other markets in the region are also playing an important role.

GM’s aggressive growth strategy for Central and Eastern Europe is paying off. GM nearly doubled industry growth in Russia year-to-date, with sales up 44 percent to 256,765 vehicles (against 23 percent industry growth). GM is also growing very fast in markets like Ukraine (26 percent in 2008), Turkey (17 percent) and Poland (12 percent).

“Despite some softening in Russia and other Eastern European markets last month, we foresee sustained economic development continuing to lift the standard of living and the demand for mobility throughout Eastern Europe,” Forster said. “GM is benefiting from this development by offering an unmatched choice of five differentiated international brands and by building up a local distribution network and local production capacity very quickly.”

“The trends we are seeing in sales volume and buying power ensure that Eastern Europe, especially Russia, constitute enormous opportunities for GM in the long term. Despite today’s challenging and competitive automotive economy in Europe, GME will concentrate on fostering our advantage in Russia and the other countries in the region”, added Forster.

Chevrolet sets new records
Despite the challenges in Western Europe and the softening in Russia in September, Chevrolet continues to build momentum in Europe, with strong sales performance across its model line-up. The brand registered its highest sales volume and market share ever in the January-September period, selling 385,653 vehicles and reaching 2.2 percent share.

“Chevrolet is playing a very important role as our value brand. We have the right cars for the customers in the growth markets in Central and Eastern Europe and we are also proving to be very competitive in the entry segments in Western Europe,” said Dewar.

Opel growing fast in Central and Eastern Europe
Opel/Vauxhall sold 1,174,534 vehicles in Europe in January-September of 2008, down 6 percent compared to last year. The brand is facing the same challenges as the competitors in Western Europe with its sales down 10.7 percent in the region. But Opel’s performance in Central and Eastern Europe continues to be impressive. Opel nearly tripled the industry growth in Eastern Europe and doubled in Central Europe.

Opel sold 78,051 vehicles in Russia year-to-date, growing 73.3 percent compared to last year. The brand also shows strong performance in important markets like Poland (up 12.2 percent) and Turkey (up 13.3 percent).

“We are very excited with the very positive feedback about the new Insignia. The Insignia range, including hatch-and notchback, ecoFLEX and Sports Tourer offers breakthrough technology and attractive design, bringing a premium touch to the mainstream mid-size car segment. We strongly believe the Insignia will help to further enhance Opel’s brand image”, said Dewar.

Saab, Cadillac and HUMMER sales
Saab sold 53,805 cars in Europe from January-September 2008. Cadillac sales grew by 3.1 percent to 3,746 units compared to 2007 and HUMMER volume was up 9.5 percent to 1,781 units.

GM Europe publishes its sales press releases on a quarterly basis. The next date will be January 12, 2009. Individual questions regarding sales may be directed to Nelson Silveira (+41-44-828-2515).