GM's China Car Sales Rise 78%

[Coventina]

Source: Wall Street Journal

BEIJING -- General Motors Corp. said Monday its sales in China surged 77.7% in July from a year earlier to 144,593 vehicles, a record for the month in the company's second-largest market.

"This was GM China's best July ever, extending an uninterrupted series of single-month sales records that started in January 2009," GM said in a statement.

China, which overtook the U.S. in January as the world's largest auto market by sales volume, is playing a key role in GM's recovery after it emerged from bankruptcy protection last month.

The company's sales in China during the January-July period rose 42.8% from a year earlier to 959,035 units. GM didn't provide year-earlier figures. It sold 143,294 vehicles in China in June.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124928687935200931.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Blue_Tires]

1. that is the market everyone is trying to exploit

[high density]

2. So people with jobs can buy stuff

Huh, imagine that.

[Warpy]

3. I did an interesting web search over the weekend

on urban electric cars. There is some truly beautiful stuff coming out of China now. I can't imagine why urbanites aren't preferring the electrics to the US gas hog. They're smaller, cleaner, and easier to park.

I imagine China will start taxing the hell out of the pollution generating cars in favor of the electrics. They'll have to, their air quality is awful already because of all the coal.

[David__77]

4. They do tax them heavily.

Much more so than in this country, that's for sure. But people are still demanding them, so maybe they need to tax them even more. The Chinese leadership would prefer to restrict private car ownership at this time, regardless of fuel type, because of the social cost.

[Warpy]

9. I think that might be the reson for the research push

into electric passenger vehicles. They're also researching renewable electricity generation at breakneck speed.

If this country doesn't follow suit, they're going to leave us not in the dust, but sitting in the middle of a sticky oil patch that nobody else wants.

Some of what they've already got into production looks quite luxurious.

[amandabeech]

6. If those electrics are the plug-in type,

they may increase the demand for coal-generated electricity.

The only hope there would be if the electrics plug in at night when some off peak electricity MAY be available.

[Plucketeer]

8. Think of the prestige

Owning something with an American brand name on it! Gotta be a status symbol.

[Psephos]

10. The electricity used to recharge the electric cars in China usually comes from coal-fired plants

Which means the pollution comes out of a smokestack instead of a tailpipe.

Just a thought... ;)

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. This, even with the tariffs

China import duties for motor cars are 25% import duty, 17% VAT and 3 – 20% consumption tax depending on the capacity, and any other taxes and fees as appropriate.

[amandabeech]

7. My recollection is that these cars are made in China and contain

few imported parts.

Why would GM not take advantage of cheap, cheap labor, lack of fair labor standards, lack of safety standards and lack (or lack of enforcement) of environmental laws?

P.S. GM's Euro cars (Opel and Vauxhall) were mostly made there, too.

[OwnedByFerrets]

11. I'm honestly curious. Would you feel the same way....

"Why would GM not take advantage of cheap, cheap labor, lack of fair labor standards, lack of safety standards and lack (or lack of enforcement) of environmental laws?"
IF, it was your $40,000 a yr job being cut for cheap labor, lack of fair labor standards, lack of safety standards and lack of environmental laws? Would it be ok if your home were being foreclosed? Or your family couldnt pay for food?
I realized that corporations need to make money, but Welsh was wrong and his ideas helped killed the american work force.

[amandabeech]

12. I should have added the sarcasm tag.

If you check my posts, I am vehemently against offshoring and know very well what happens when decent jobs are shipped out to places like China and Mexico.

I just got back from Michigan, which is my home state--I now live in the D.C. area. One of my friends, who is a rock-ribbed Republican but a nice guy asked me, "Why do people in Washington and New York hate factory jobs?" I had a hard time coming up with a good answer to that one despite years of living in both places. Care to suggest something short and snappy?

[OwnedByFerrets]

13. Yikes!!! Youre too damn good at this sarcasm thing.

:rofl:

[amandabeech]

14. Years of practice and lots of material.

Thanks, by the way.