April Sales Mixed in China for GM, Ford
May 05 2016 - 10:20AM
Dow Jones News
General Motors Co.'s sales in China regained some momentum in
April, rising 7.5% over the same year-ago period, while Ford Motor
Co.'s performance downshifted with an 11% drop in deliveries to
Chinese buyers last month.
Ford and GM, like other car makers in China, continue to benefit
from surging demand for pricier crossovers and sport-utility
vehicles and a new tax subsidy adopted last year for smaller-engine
vehicles.
But the start of the year has been uneven for both U.S. car
makers with GM's sales down 1% in March as it replaced several
models with newer versions, and Ford's volume up 5% in the same
month.
While auto executives remain bullish on China, new-car demand
has cooled considerably over the last year amid a broader economic
slowdown.
Still, global auto makers are spending billions to build up
their operations in the world's largest car market, hoping to tap
the country's growing middle-class wealth and expand farther West
to interior cities that are just now starting to industrialize.
GM said SUV deliveries more than doubled in April while sales
for Cadillac, the company's luxury brand, expanded 13% from the
previous year.
Ford is also getting a boost from new sport-utilities recently
introduced in China with sales of those models up 27% in the first
four months. Ford doesn't break out sales for its premium Lincoln
brand, which still has a small presence in China.
"China continues to be a dynamic marketplace as it transitions
from an industrial economy to a consumer-led economy," said a Ford
spokesman, when asked about April's 11% drop.
Industry-wide sales in China accelerated in March, up 9.8% over
the prior-year period, gaining steam after the first two months of
the year were negatively affected by the traditional slowdown
around the Lunar New Year holiday.
Auto sales for the broader Chinese market will be reported later
in May.
Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2016 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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