Autoblog

REPORT: GM to give China dedicated vehicle, launch up to 30 models there in five years

Michael Harley — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Buick, Chevrolet, GM

According to Automotive News China, at least one new inexpensive model from Buick or Chevrolet will be dedicated to the Chinese and other emerging markets. The undisclosed model will arrive before 2011. In addition, two more Buick-badged vehicles, and four more wearing Chevrolet logos, will roll into Chinese showrooms in the next two years.

Looking further down the road, Kevin Wale, General Motors' China Group president, reportedly also confirmed that the automaker plans to launch as many as 30 new models by 2014 in an effort to double sales. Of the 8.35 million GM cars and trucks sold in 2008, 1.09 million were sold in China.

[Source: Automotive News China, subs. req'd]

REPORT: GM to give China dedicated vehicle, launch up to 30 models there in five years originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM hits two million Buick sales in China

Chris Shunk — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:34:00 EST

Filed under: China, Buick, GM

2009 Buick Regal (China Spec) - click above for high-res image gallery

It took General Motors eight years to sell one million Buicks in China, but the second million came in only three. Brisk auto sales in the land of the Great Wall are part of the reason for the increase, but the General has also stepped up its product lineup with new offerings, including the Regal, LaCrosse, and Park Avenue. Shanghai GM's two-millionth Buick was a red Regal, delivered to a customer in the southern city of Guangzhou.

While those vehicles have brought some high-end class to GM Shanghai's Buick operation, they haven't come close to the success of the smaller Excelle. Shanghai GM has sold 900,000 copies of the Excelle sedan, hatch, and wagon since 2003, and sales are still going strong with 94,000 units moved in the first five months of 2009.

While Buick has struggled as a brand here in the States, the marquee has enjoyed blockbuster success in China. Buick was a smash success in China in the 1930s, as provincial presidents and emperors chose the brand over more austere offerings from the likes of Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz, and it appears some of that goodwill has been projected into modern times.

Gallery: 2009 Chinese-spec Buick Regal

Continue reading GM hits two million Buick sales in China

GM hits two million Buick sales in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #127

Dan Roth — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Government/Legal, Earnings/Financials, Opinion/Editorial

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick it for Episode #127 of the Autoblog Podcast. Of course, there are the usual tangents around the topics, which this week include BMW's new Z4, a poll about Hybrids, Chrysler's bankruptcy, Toyota's losses, Opel's new Astra and the possibility of General Motors building US-market cars in China, and we make time for some questions at the end. It's an hour show this week, and a chock-full one at that. Next week, it's a reader-question edition, so get your emails rolling in to podcast at autoblog dot com and we'll see you next week! Thanks for listening!

Follow the jump to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, add the show to your RSS aggregator... or listen to it right now!

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #127

Autoblog Podcast #127 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 May 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shanghai 2009: Buick's handsome new MPV concept is all business

Chris Paukert — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:27:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Minivan/Van, China, Buick, GM, Shanghai Motor Show

Buick "Business" MPV concept - Click above for a hi-res gallery

General Motors has unveiled its new Buick "Business" MPV concept in Shanghai, and while details remain scarce as we try to practice our Chinese, we can tell you that while the idea of another Buick minivan may be hard for U.S. audiences to swallow (after the poor sales and driving experience of the Terraza), Buick MPVs do a very solid trade in China as executive transports. Thus, instead of prioritizing sippy cup storage, this is clearly more of a high-roofed luxury limousine.

Our compatriots over at Autoblog Chinese (who bring you these images) tell us that this vehicle is the result of a joint-venture between General Motors China and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, as was the 2007 Rivera concept before it. If our Google translator is to be believed, this vehicle is still based on the Buick GL8 (read: Terraza), and the "land-based business class" concept is designed to point the way toward future visions of Buick luxury for customers in the land of the Great Wall. We'll have more details for you as they become available. For now, take a look at the gallery below.

Gallery: shanghai 2009:buick mpv concept

Photos copyright (C)2009 IceBin/ Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

Shanghai 2009: Buick's handsome new MPV concept is all business originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM looking to double sales in China by 2013?

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: China, GM, Earnings/Financials

General Motors sold 1.09 million vehicles in China in 2008, and the automaker wants to nearly double that figure to two million by 2013. A GM spokeswoman in China said they'll do that by introducing thirty -- that's right, 30 - "new or upgraded models" over the next five years. The company's March sales were up in China, along with everyone else's, thanks to China's new car buying incentive. With Q1 sales at 363,701 units, that would put GM on course for nearly 1.5 million cars sold in 2009.

In the short term, the sales targets rely on the global economy not getting any worse, and the Chinese government artificially propping up sales. Over the long term, GM must be hoping that by the time the economy turns around it will still be a strong enough to take advantage of its dominant position, its eight Chinese joint ventures and China-specific development, and the allure of those 30 new and revised models. If it can't, then Volkswagen looks to be the wolf in the shadows, having also pledged to double its sales to two million units by 2018.

[Source: Reuters]

GM looking to double sales in China by 2013? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: GM China spokesman denies pondering selling Buick to SAIC

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:26:00 EST

Filed under: China, Buick, GM

Chinese-spec Buick Regal - Click above for high-res image gallery

Yesterday's rumors regarding a possible Buick sale to China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) might have been a wee bit premature according to an unnamed executive at GM China. This news should be anything but surprising - we didn't put much stock in the rumor when we first reported it - since the success of the Buick brand is one of GM's few current bright spots.

In America, General Motors has singled out Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick as the core brands that it will concentrate on, which gives further reason to believe that the Buick nameplate will be staying right where it is in the General Motors portfolio. Hummer, Saab and Saturn, on the other hand, remain very much for sale.

Gallery: 2009 Chinese-spec Buick Regal

[Source: Gasgoo]

REPORT: GM China spokesman denies pondering selling Buick to SAIC originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM may use profits from China to float North American operations

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:02:00 EST

Filed under: China, GM, Earnings/Financials

Big Bob Lutz said that GM declaring bankruptcy is "out of the question." Of course, that was two years ago, when things like a $25 billion government loan would have sounded ludicrous. That was also before the auto industry mess got messier, and in order to stay true to those words today, GM is doing whatever it has to do to find money to stay in business. It heard Chrysler has an $11 billion piggy bank and a couple of jewels (Jeep and minivans) and GM said "Come here, girl! Lemme holla at you for a minute!"

Now GM is looking at its own international stable, and has its eye on China as a source of stopgap revenue for its North American operations. We've posted before on the fact that GM's international operations aren't doing too badly, and GM China sold 11.5 million vehicles last year -- more than any other manufacturer there. This year, it expects China sales volume to grow by 11- to 12-percent, and that means yuan in the bank.

Lutz said of the China move, "We do not rule out such a possibility under current conditions." These are hard times, but -- just like the good ones -- they're temporary, and GM just needs a little help to get to payday. Using money from one of your branches makes perfect sense to us. What doesn't make perfect sense is that China will get the Cruze the same time as Europe, in early '09, while we in the U.S. have to wait years in line for a car that we've been screaming for. Ah, GM, what are we going to do with you?

[Source: Gasgoo]

GM may use profits from China to float North American operations originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM seeking Chinese suitor for HUMMER?

Dan Roth — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:28:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Truck, China

The continual grousing over fuel prices has earned the HUMMER brand a place on consumers' fecal roster. There's nothing wrong with what HUMMER has on offer, other than the fact that large, off-road capable trucks make terrible commuter cars, and the idiots misusing their H2s for tasks better suited to Cobalts are finally wising up. This re-thinking of emetic consumption has sent HUMMER sales down the sewer, and with no end in sight, GM is seriously considering selling the brand to stanch the cash bleed.

China is a huge emerging market for General Motors - Buick is big there, for example. As such, GM's Fritz Henderson has indicated its willingness to hold discussions with any Chinese company interested in buying the division. It's not like HUMMER is a brand with lots of history, anyway. Only the H1 had any legitimate claim to military lineage, and that vehicle hasn't been available for a while. The survival of the brand in the U.S. market may hinge on competing more directly with the Jeep Wrangler, regardless of ownership. The same way as Jaguar and Land Rover are a handy entre into serious carmaking for Tata, HUMMER could be a way for Chinese automakers to crack the U.S. market.

[Source: Inside Line]

GM seeking Chinese suitor for HUMMER? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Chevy Beat caught testing in China

Dan Roth — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:29:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Spy Photos, China, Chevrolet, GM

We saw the Chevy Beat concept unveiled a year ago, and now a camouflaged mule has been caught testing in China, fueling speculation that the Beat will succeed the Spark in that market. The Beat is certainly far less dowdy than the Spark, which is also sold, sometimes gratuitously, as the Matiz in other markets. When the Beat debuted as one in a trio of concepts, it was the sportiest of the three and described as a "tuner car" offering substantial levels of customization at the retail level, much like a Scion. That rhetoric may not be for world-wide consumption, however, and the Beat could wind up looking sharp on the outside and offering you roll-your-own windows and milk jug-quality plastics in the cabin. Of course, GM could pull a Ford and deliver a deliciously stylish small car everywhere but the United States, just as our fuel costs skyrocket ever further. Thanks for the tip, Kevin!

[Source: China Car Times]

Spy Shots: Chevy Beat caught testing in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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