Cadillac, Chevrolet, HUMMER and Saab Brands

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Cadillac, Chevrolet, HUMMER and Saab Brands Continue Global Growth <GM.N>DETROIT, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ --

General Motors reported calendar year-to-date sales (January - September) of 7,066,774 vehicles around the world -- a 3.7 percent increase over 2004, led by significant gains in sales for its three luxury and premium brands Cadillac (up 9.6 percent), HUMMER (up 84.1percent) and Saab (up 1.4 percent), as well as its foundation brand, Chevrolet (up 7.3 percent). Integrating GM's product development and marketing operations on a global scale is helping to further strengthen its brands. These efforts complement the global manufacturing of vehicles in the Chevrolet, Cadillac, HUMMER and Saab product portfolios, positioning each of these brands for continued growth. "With Chevrolet and Cadillac we have two of the strongest vehicle brands in the industry, and we intend to leverage and grow them internationally with our global marketing, manufacturing and vehicle development strategies," said John Middlebrook, vice president of global sales, service and marketing. "The sales increases we're seeing with Cadillac, Chevrolet and most recently HUMMER and Saab demonstrate that we have a winning portfolio of new vehicles." Global Chevrolet sales are up more than 228,000 units over 2004. The sales increase boosted Chevrolet's global market share from 6.6 to 6.8, strengthening its position as the third best selling brand in the world. Chevrolet sales in Europe increased 27 percent year-to-date. In Asia-Pacific, which is a strong and rapidly growing market for GM, Chevrolet sales improved 143 percent, while year-over-year Chevrolet sales in the Latin America, Africa and Middle East region jumped 17.8 percent. GM's Cadillac luxury brand experienced a significant sales boost in the Asia-Pacific markets (up 160 percent). The mid-size Cadillac CTS sedan led the pack with significant sales gains in this region. "The Chinese market could eventually represent up to 20 percent of Cadillac's global volume and become the Cadillac brand's second-largest after the U.S.," said Middlebrook. Cadillac's presence in Europe is expected to grow with sales of the new Cadillac BLS starting next spring. The BLS, a four-door luxury midsize sedan,will be available with an optional direct-injected turbo diesel engine and right-hand drive. HUMMER, the brand known for its iconic design and unparalleled off-road capabilities, is expanding globally as well. GM launched the all-new 2006 H3 to European audiences at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year and is investing $100 million to upgrade an assembly plant in South Africa to produce H3s for global markets. When fully operational, this facility will assemble both left and right-hand drive versions of the H3 for markets outside of North America. The H3 is expected to be HUMMER's biggest seller, with the strongest demand in the United States, Middle East and Europe. The larger HUMMER H2s are already sold in more than 30 countries around the world. Global sales of Saab are up 1.4 percent this year, led by a 10.4 percent increase in GM's North America region. In September Saab reported its fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales, as well as its highest ever monthly market share performance in GM's Europe region. Much of the brand's growth is attributed to the most aggressive product development program in Saab's 58-year history. New products introduced this year include the 9-7X premium midsize SUV; the 9-3 SportCombi 5-door wagon, which complements the 9-3 sport sedan and convertible; and a mid-cycle enhancement to the 9-5. Three of GM's four regions achieved year-over-year sales increases over the first nine months of 2005. The largest percentage increase occurred in GM's Latin America, Africa and Middle East region, which boosted sales by 21.6 percent, followed by its Asia-Pacific region with a sales increase of 17.4 percent. GM's Europe region reported year-to-date sales increases of 1.7 percent built on strong sales from Chevrolet.

Jan-Sept 2005/ Jan-Sept 2004/ % change


Global Sales by Brand

Buick: 421,277/ 463,351/ -42,074/ -9.1%

Cadillac: 197,078/ 179,829/ 17,249/ 9.6%

Chevrolet: 3,351,242/ 3,123,222/ 228,020/ 7.3%

Daewoo: 84,230/ 84,600/ -370/ -0.4%

GMC: 544,235/ 524,512/ 19,723/ 3.8%

Holden: 144,340/ 142,419/ 1,902/ 1.3%

HUMMER: 39,329/ 21,359/ 17,970/ 84.1%

Oldsmobile: 1,858/ 35,293/ -33,435/ -94.7%

Opel: 998,166/ 986,454/ 11,712/ 1.2%

Pontiac: 437,445/ 469,194/ -30,270 -6.8%

Saab: 96,633/ 95,262/ 1,371/ 1.4%

Saturn: 184,997/ 186,212/ -1,215/ -0.7%

Vauxhall: 295,608/ 306,089/ -10,481/ -3.4%

Wuling: 228,045/ 163,068/ 64,977/ 39.8%

Other: 42,291/ 36,917/ 3,914/ 14.6%


Total: 7,066,774/ 6,817,781/ 248,993/ 3.7%


Sales by Region

Asia Pacific: 773,897/ 659,063/ 114,834/ 17.4%

Europe: 1,525,219/ 1,500,141/ 25,078/ 1.7%

Latin America/Africa & M.E: 632,395/ 520,047/ 112,348/ 21.6%

North America: 4,135,263/ 4,138,530/ -3,267/ -0.1%

Total Sales: 7,066,774/ 6,817,781/ 248,993/ 3.7%

[Shantanu]

I'd like to see real numbers on how many (American) Chevrolets and Cadillacs are sold overseas. That would be interesting.

[evok]

I'd like to see real numbers on how many (American) Chevrolets and Cadillacs are sold overseas.  That would be interesting.

[post="33449"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I do not have exact number but the numbers are small. Probably around 10,000 total NA exports to overseas market.

[aldw]

As long as GM keeps building momentum, its all good.

[Cory Wolfe]

All while Pontiac sees decrease after decrease because GM can't export any out of NA... And because GM cuts model after model... As well as getting product it shouldn't... Not to mention it not even getting what it needs. Wow, it's a great time to be a Pontiac fanatic!

[Northstar]

Wow, it's good to see GM gaining ground everywhere but in North America. Does anyone have worldwide sales figures for all automakers? It'd be interesting to see if GM is outpacing the competition in terms of sales growth worldwide or not.

[Newbiewar]

Wow, it's good to see GM gaining ground everywhere but in North America.

Does anyone have worldwide sales figures for all automakers? It'd be interesting to see if GM is outpacing the competition in terms of sales growth worldwide or not.

[post="33600"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

i know in some areas GM is really outpacing toyota, like China for example... but I would also like to see the comparsons...

[Clownzilla]

i know in some areas GM is really outpacing toyota, like China for example... but I would also like to see the comparsons...

[post="33723"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Chinese people literly hate Japanese people. Their was an interesting article in Automotive News several weeks ago (can't remember which one) talking about the difficulty of Japan selling vehicles there because of this. Their was an interesting quote from a Chinese guy shooping at a Puegot or Renault dealership or somthing, when asked by the interviewer "Why don't you buy a well built Toyota"(somthing to that effect) the Chinese man said, and I quote "Because I hate Japanese people".OUCH!!!!!!

[the_yellow_dart]

what is wuling?

[Newbiewar]

Chinese people literly hate Japanese people. Their was an interesting article in Automotive News several weeks ago (can't remember which one) talking about the difficulty of Japan selling vehicles there because of this. Their was an interesting quote from a Chinese guy shooping at a Puegot or Renault dealership or somthing, when asked by the interviewer "Why don't you buy a well built Toyota"(somthing to that effect) the Chinese man said, and I quote "Because I hate Japanese people".OUCH!!!!!!

[post="33797"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

well its true... if you're country got rape and murdered in WWII you'd probably hate who ever did that to you too...

[RBB]

what is wuling?

[post="33798"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

http://www.gmchina.com/english/operations/wuling.htm

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Company Limited (SAIC-GM-Wuling) was officially launched on November 18, 2002. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC) has a 50.1 percent stake, General Motors China a 34 percent stake and Liuzhou Wuling Automotive Company, Ltd. (Wuling Automotive) a 15.9 percent stake. The joint venture is based in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in western China.

The company began as a machinery and tractor manufacturer in 1958 and switched to producing mini-vehicles in 1981. In July 2001, SAIC became the largest stakeholder in a major subsidiary of Wuling Automotive, forming SAIC-Wuling Automobile Company Limited (SAIC-Wuling). In June 2002, GM China, SAIC and Wuling Automotive signed an agreement for the formation of a three-way partnership to restructure SAIC-Wuling into SAIC-GM-Wuling.

Covering a total area of 79,000 square meters, the company has stamping, welding, paint and general assembly shops. Building on its strength as a simple, low-cost manufacturer, SAIC-GM-Wuling has introduced advanced production processes such as lean manufacturing to enhance efficiency and quality. The joint venture has more than 4,600 employees.

The second-largest mini-vehicle producer in China by sales, SAIC-GM-Wuling is currently capable of producing up to 200,000 vehicles per year. SAIC-GM-Wuling is expanding its manufacturing facility. When completed in 2006, its annual capacity will rise to 336,000 vehicles.

SAIC-GM-Wuling manufactures 210 configurations of four lines of minivans and mini-trucks. In December 2003, it began production of the Chevrolet Spark mini-car, which is the first true global mini-vehicle and the first Chevrolet car built in China.

SAIC-GM-Wuling operates an extensive network of over 400 retailers in 29 provinces and municipalities and over 400 aftersales service centers nationwide. SAIC-GM-Wuling's sales in 2003 grew 22.8 percent year on year to 180,188 units.

-RBB

[RBB]

Wuling's english website:

http://www.wuling.com.cn/doce/

Wuling automobiles:



-RBB

[The O.C.]

I do not have exact number but the numbers are small.  Probably around 10,000 total NA exports to overseas market.

[post="33464"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Interesting......while I was in Frankfurt (a short 2.5 days) I saw two domestic automobiles.....both I assume were brought over by their owners as opposed to purchased here...

1) pre-'93 generation Trans-Am

2) first-generation Dodge Intrepid

It did give me a sense of pride to see these two cars shooting down the Autobahn in Germany!