GM China’s CEO, Kevin Wale, predicts that, despite sluggish new car sales across the globe, the Chinese market will actually grow 5 to 10 percent this year for the Detroit automaker. GM has invested heavily in its Asian operations and it is banking on growth in certain emerging markets to help it recover from its current economic hardships.
China overtook the United States as the world’s largest car market and it has seen a roughly 10 percent year-on-year sales growth this year, which compares quite favorably to the negative growth seen across most of the world.
GM’s Asia-Pacific CEO, Nick Reilly, said that the automaker is seeing signs of growth in some Asia Pacific countries.
“I think it’s bottomed out in Australia and maybe India,” Reilly told Reuters at the Shanghai Motor Show last weekend.
The automaker is seeing an increase in demand in South Korea, though Japanese sales have remained weak.
Buick to stay American
GM reaffirmed that it is not seeking to divest itself of its Buick nameplate, which has persevered as one of the strongest and most prestigious in China. There had been some rumors that, in a bid to raise cash, the automaker would sell the Buick brand to its Chinese partner, SAIC Motor Corporation.
