General Motors Corp (GM) and Ford Motor Co said yesterday their first-half sales grew strongly in China’s booming auto market, a rare bright spot for global automakers amid weak demand elsewhere.
GM said sales of its Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands rose 12.7 percent from the first half of last year to 590,126 vehicles.
Ford said its sales rose 21 percent from the year-earlier period to 172,411 vehicles.
Growth was weaker than the stunning rates reported last year, when Ford’s China sales grew 30 percent. But they still were far stronger than in North America, where automakers are idling factories amid a severe sales downturn.
“The Chinese vehicle market has continued to grow in 2008, setting a new first-half sales record,” said Kevin Wale, president of GM China, in a written statement.
Auto sales have been driven by fast-rising incomes in an economy that is forecast to grow by at least 9 percent this year.
GM said its growth was driven by the popularity of its Chevrolet brand, which saw sales jump 34.6 percent in the first half to 109,131 units.
US, European and Japanese automakers and their local partners are investing heavily to expand production and sales in China, the world’s second-largest vehicle market after the US.
“Despite challenging events that had significant impact in China and on the economy as a whole this year, we were still able to achieve healthy growth through the first six months,” said Robert Graziano, president and CEO of Ford Motor China, in a written statement.
Auto sales in China have been largely unaffected by high global oil prices because government controls have kept retail gasoline and diesel prices at levels that are among the world’s lowest.
Meanwhile, Mazda Motor Corp, a third owned by Ford Motor, may increase the price of its cars to cover the rising cost of raw materials.
“We may raise prices,” after considering price moves by other automakers, Mazda president Hisakazu Imaki told reporters in Tokyo yesterday.
Higher prices at Mazda would follow other Japanese automakers, which have raised prices on some models in North America and in Asia.
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