GM lags industry rebound as Q2 sales fall

BEIJING — General Motors Co.’s vehicle sales in China dropped 5.3 percent between April and June, underperforming the industry average amid a recovery from the coronavirus fallout in the world’s biggest auto market.

China’s light-vehicle sales, which include passenger and commercial vehicles, rose 4.4 percent in April and 15 percent in May, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said, adding that it expects auto sales to grow 11 percent in June.

GM, China’s second-biggest foreign automaker after Volkswagen Group, delivered 713,600 vehicles in the country in the second quarter, the company said in a statement, after reporting a drop of 43 percent in sales in the first quarter, because of the pandemic.

GM operates a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. which makes Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles. It has another venture, SGMW, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group that produces no-frills minivans and has started making higher-end cars.

Sales of GM’s mass-market brand Buick rose 7.8 percent while Chevrolet dropped 28 percent in the latest quarter. Cadillac deliveries fell 12 percent, GM said in a statement on Friday.

Sales at Wuling grew 9.7 percent, while Baojun volume tumbled 31 percent.