GM and its 11 joint ventures post record sales in China in 2015

General Motors and its Chinese joint ventures delivered a record 3,612,635 vehicles in China in 2015, which was up 5.2% from the previous high in 2014. China remained GM’s largest market in terms of retail sales, the company said.

An average of one vehicle was sold every nine seconds and nearly 9,900 vehicles were sold each day last year.

GM has 11 joint ventures, two wholly owned foreign enterprises and more than 58,000 employees in China. GM and its joint ventures offer the broadest line-up of vehicles and brands among automakers in China. Passenger cars and commercial vehicles are sold under the Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jiefang and Wuling brands.

In December, GM and its joint ventures sold an all-time monthly record of 445,227 vehicles in the domestic market, an increase of 14% on an annual basis.

“We expect to have increased our market share in 2015 through great products and our team’s relentless effort,” said GM Executive Vice President and President of GM China Matt Tsien. “We anticipate continued growth in 2016, as we plan to introduce 13 new and refreshed models starting with Cadillac’s all-new CT6 sedan later this month.”

The three segments that GM made a special focus in 2015 – MPVs, SUVs and luxury cars – all posted significant growth. GM’s MPV deliveries, led by the Buick GL8 and Baojun 730, were up 12% from a year earlier.

GM’s SUV deliveries in 2015 surged 144% on an annual basis, led by new models such as the Buick Envision and Baojun 560. The fast-growing SUV segment accounted for 13% of GM’s sales in China in 2015, compared with 5.6% a year earlier.

GM continued growing its manufacturing presence as well. SAIC-GM opened its new Wuhan Branch and SAIC-GM-Wuling started production at the second phase of its Baojun plant in Liuzhou. On November 5, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Shanghai for the new engineering center operated by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).

In addition, GM and its partner SAIC launched SAIC Motor Insurance Sales Co., Ltd. (INSAIC) – a joint venture that is providing insurance products to Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet customers, making buying and owning a GM vehicle even more convenient.

Shanghai OnStar and SAIC-GMAC continued to expand their services and customer bases as well. Shanghai OnStar, which provides a range of in-vehicle safety, security and telematics services, reached a new industry high of nearly 1 million active subscribers. It introduced several new services such as OnStar 4G LTE, a wearable app, additional premium services and service packages, an upgraded mobile app and a WeChat service account.

SAIC-GMAC, China’s first approved and operational automotive financing company, ended 2015 with nearly 2.4 million customers. It is providing service to 7,000 dealers in more than 350 cities.