Currently reading: GM China 'sells more than US'

GM's China division expects to sell more cars than the US this year, its boss has told Autocar

General Motors China is set to sell more cars this year than its parent company does in the US, company boss Kevin Wale has revealed to Autocar.

What’s more, the success of GM’s domestic brands such as Wuling and, recently launched Baojun, means that they are being targeted to export more cars and possibly manufacture them outside of China, Wale revealed.

Wuling’s ultra-cheap trucks are currently sold in Egypt, Colombia and Equador but if demand increases by a very small margin there is a business model to make them there.

Read more on GM's record growth in China

Similarly, GM plans to export Baojun’s low-cost model range if there is a global demand for such a car. Though exported models are likely to be sold under a different brand name, possibly Chevrolet or Wulin.

Wale predicted that the total Chinese car market would carry on expanding. He has estimated that it will top out at over 17 million vehicles this year, rising to 19 million for 2011.

He reckons that Chinese success is due to government support, a domestic love of cars, rising incomes and a rise in the number of urban dwellers. By 2025 there will be more than 200 Chinese cities with an excess of one million inhabitants By contrast, the US has nine cities.

Chas Hallett

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