General Motors Announces 2008 Sales Results for the Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – January 21, 2009: General Motors (GM) today announced their car sales and business results for 2008. Figures released show that GM sales in the region have increased by 6% over 2007, in spite of a market slowdown in the fourth quarter due to the global economic crisis.

GMC in particular was a strong performer for GM with the Acadia up 96%, the Yukon up 26% and Sierra up 13%. The award-winning Cadillac CTS sedan also made its mark.

Registering a 30% increase in sales over 2007, GM’s best-selling models across the Middle East continue to be its full-size SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade. At the opposite end of the size spectrum, and reinforcing GM’s reputation for offering great value cars for every type of customer, the fuel efficient Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Optra models occupy second and third place in the sales chart in terms of their sales increase over 2007. Much of GM’s 2008 growth has been built on expansion in the Lower Gulf and the region’s smaller markets. This continues to be the case in 2008, with Lebanon the star performer, up 81%, followed by Iraq (+68%) and Oman (+27%). UAE and Syria recorded double-digit increases of 19% and 10% respectively. GM’s biggest market, Saudi Arabia also experienced rising sales of 2%.

Announcing the results, Mike Devereux, President of General Motors Middle East, commented: “We are delighted to have recorded positive growth in the Middle East in 2008 and another record number of vehicles sold. In the first ten months of 2008, we were on track to record an increase of 13%, prior to the effects of the financial crisis. At the same time, we must acknowledge the commitment and effort of our esteemed dealers, who continually strive to offer our customers a fantastic experience, that matches the best vehicles the market has to offer.”

ACDelco saw a growth of over 25% in the region, primarily driven by sale of its KSA made batteries with sales in excess of 2.5M units and an estimated market share of 44% ACDelco Middle East is the largest market for General Motors outside of the USA.

“As we start 2009, for what is sure to be a challenging year ahead, I am pleased to say that the launch programme for our new models is very much on track. Chevrolet’s crossover Traverse, small Cruze, mid-size Malibu and Camaro, together with Cadillac’s Escalade Platinum Edition and CTS-V, along with the GMC Sierra Denali and Hummer H3T completing the line up – this promises to be an exciting year for General Motors and our customers in the Middle East.”