General Motors might see a 10% rise in Chinese sales this year that would match the top end of its forecast range for industry growth there, its Chinese chief said.
The automaker plans 19 new or refreshed vehicles, Bloomberg News reported.
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A 10% boost would see GM, second-largest foreign automaker after Volkswagen in China, shift about 3.5m vehicles this year versus 3.16m in 2013. It is forecasting industry sales will jump 8% to 10%.
“Industry growth at 10% is probably an upside at this stage but we’re certainly working hard to keep up with that pace of growth or maybe go slightly ahead of that,” GM China president Matt Tsien told Bloomberg.
“We’ve got some exciting launches going on this year.”
Total vehicle sales in China rose 14% to 21.98m last year and may rise to more than 24m this year, the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in January. GM’s China sales in 2013 rose 11%.
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By GlobalDataGM had been the top selling foreign automaker in China for eight consecutive years but lost its lead last year to VW which grew sales 16% to 3.27m.
“Our ambition is really to do the best job we can satisfying customers and making sure they’re happy with our products and they come back for more,” Tsien told Bloomberg. Being No. 1 is always great.”
Tsien, previously product planning chief in China, took control of GM China on 1 January after Bob Soca retired. New GM CEO Mary Barra has said she would accelerate strategies developed under predecessor Dan Akerson including a push to build up Cadillac and expand in China.
“GM will further strengthen our investment in China,” she said. “This is crucial for ensuring we remain a global industry leader.”
Of the 19 new vehicles due this year, six will be Chevrolets, including an updated Cruze compact car, Tsien told Bloomberg. Chevy sales in China failed to increase at the same level as the market, rising 8.5% to 652,077 last year.
“We hope to accelerate that further,” he said. “We expect this year to be a pretty strong year for us.”
Tsien also reiterated GM’s plans to boost Cadillac sales in China to more than 100,000 by the end of next year from 50,000 last year. The brand’s sales rose 67% in China in 2013.
The new models, including SUVs, should help GM sell more vehicles, Tsien told Bloomberg.
