Shanghai GM stumbles in '08
One of the refrains we've all heard in recent years is how strong Buick is for General Motors in China, where it's not cursed with the stigma of being a grandparent's brand in the States. While most of yesterday's attention was rightly focused on the industry-wide year-end U.S. sales bloodbath, Shanghai Daily reports that 2008 was a bummer for GM's joint venture with SAIC in China.
Shanghai GM ended up down 7% versus 2007, with analysts saying that its new cars, like the freshly-updated Buick Excelle, didn't deliver the goods in terms of styling, price, or fuel economy. Hence, buyers reportedly turned to the VW Jetta and Toyota Corolla instead. Shanghai Daily points out that Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Saab all showed growth in China last year, so the overall Shanghai GM decline essentially gets laid at the feet of Buick. Now, it'll be interesting to see how 2009 plays out. GM is hoping that the Chevy Cruze can help get things back on track in the People's Republic (and everyplace else, for that matter) when it arrives sometime in Q2, joining other key Shanghai GM newcomers like the Buick Regal.
Shanghai GM's disappointing 2008 performance was part of a broader growth slowdown for the General in China. When factoring in the rest of its joint ventures, GM's China sales were actually up 6% overall. But that's a significant dropoff from the double-digit sales gains exhibited in preceding years -- 19% in '07, and at least 27% in the each of the four years prior to that, according to Bloomberg. With so many consecutive years of explosive sales growth, things were probably bound to level off as car shoppers transformed into car owners. Whether GM's influx of new models planned for this year and beyond stokes the sales fires in China again is a story that we'll follow throughout '09.
Gallery: 2009 Buick Excelle
Gallery: 2009 Chinese-spec Buick Regal
[Sources: Shanghai Daily, Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
firstplace 5:04PM (1/06/2009)
another step towards bankruptcy. Bad times. O well there goes the loans...
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why not the LS2LS7? 5:32PM (1/06/2009)
'Shanghai Daily points out that Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Saab all showed growth in China last year,'
John L 5:22PM (1/06/2009)
wish they had these buicks in the us.
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bc 5:33PM (1/06/2009)
Really? Hardly anyone bought the Daewoo Lacetti when it was sold here as the Suzuki Reno and Suzuki Forenza--do Buick styling cues and badges make it a better car, or more appealing to US buyers? Buick needs better entry-level model than the LaCrosse, but I don't think the Excelle is it.
why not the LS2LS7? 5:38PM (1/06/2009)
Wow, people don't even like the LaCrosse? What are people expecting for $27K (before discounts!) nowadays?
albert 8:44PM (1/06/2009)
I've sat in Excelle during my trip to Asia last year. I can tell you that even tho it look very nice in the photos. The interior is actually not that well made. Cheap looking trims with poor feeling switch gears all around. I mean parts with parting lines and poorly matched color and surface texture everywhere. A US Aveo or Civic has better interior quilaty then the Asian Excelle.
geo.stewart 5:25PM (1/06/2009)
not for nothing but China's economy is in the crapper also.
if you look at overall sales, an increase in lower cost vehicles and a decrease in higher end models relating to an overall increase, not bad. if the economy was up in 07 and lots of bigwigs could afford buicks, they went ahead and bought them. they are done for a couple of years. in a down year for china, an increase in sales of chevy meant that 1) middle managers and upper working class bought more or 2) the remaining upper crust shopped down a little for that 2nd car.
I'm betting GM's star is still bright in china
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why not the LS2LS7? 5:36PM (1/06/2009)
It must be brutal for carmakers in China right now. Especially anyone who is selling anything but a bargain basement car.
Most of these cars are bought by the "nouveau middle class", that is managers at manufacturing plants and such. Up until recently, they saw their wallets growing and by more each year. Promotions abounded, things were looking up. Why not stretch a bit and get that car?
Now you can't even be sure to have a job at all (if you still do at all) and if you do, it's likely your pay will be cut. Putting off a car purchase or buying the absolute cheapest car possible is a no brainer. That means a Chery QQ (or nothing), certainly not a Buick.
As easy wealth becomes rarer, the car, which is a tool of the wealthy (even moderately wealthy) will be hit disproportionally hard.
Now scooter sales...
Kate1240 6:11PM (1/06/2009)
Yuck! The body style resembles a Kia, and the interior resembles the impala...
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happy_penguin 9:53PM (1/06/2009)
A quick check of your comment history reveals just how f*cking stupid you really are.
Gary Lowe 6:45PM (1/06/2009)
Leave it to GM to destroy anything good. TWO THIRDS of the Buick models in China are either cheap looking rebadged Daewoos, old GMAC trucks or Chevy Lovas.
And now of course under Obama's campaign theme "Change You Can Shove Up Your Ass" we the taxpayers have heavily invested in this, the longest running sob story in corporate history.
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SenSpeed 7:41PM (1/06/2009)
Actually, we're still under Bush's administration...you must be a right winger, lol
Gary Lowe 8:00PM (1/06/2009)
Actually I'm a no winger at all...but it's hard to figure which is more offensive....Obama's status quo team supporting Bush's bailout....or GMs kiss of death to anything they touch, including Saab, Fiat, GMAC and now Shanghai Buick
Richard S. 8:06PM (1/06/2009)
I think the Excelle looks pretty good, especially when compared to GM's small cars sold here in the U.S., such as the Chevy Cobalt.
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sk 8:47AM (1/07/2009)
That's the problem, the Excelle looks too good for the Chinese. It has to be boring and outdated looking to be become a success. China and modern don't match.
Runner 8:09PM (1/06/2009)
A painful year to Automaker!
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