FILE PHOTO – A General Motors sign is seen during the China International Import Expo (CIIE), at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song
BEIJING (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s (GM.N) second-quarter vehicle sales in China fell 12.2%, as the U.S. automaker was hurt by a slowing economy amid the Sino-U.S. trade war and by heightened competition in its key mid-priced SUV segment.
GM delivered 753,926 vehicles in China in the April-June period this year, according to a company statement. The drop for the quarter marks the fourth straight quarterly sales decline for GM in China, the world’s biggest auto market.
Sales of its affordable brand Baojun dropped 31.8% during the quarter compared to the same period last year. But luxury brand Cadillac’s sales jumped 36.6% in the quarter.
In China, GM has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS), in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac are made. It also has another venture, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars.
GM sold 3.64 million units in China last year, down from 4.04 units in 2017.
In a slowing overall Chinese auto market, GM and its rivals are launching new models or sprucing up older ones to draw customers. GM has laid out plans to introduce around 20 new models or variants of older ones this year.
“Around two-thirds of the about 20 new and refreshed models will arrive in the second half with a sharpened focus on luxury vehicles and mid-size to large SUVs,” a GM spokeswoman told Reuters, adding more than half of the new launches will be new models.
Reporting by Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
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