GM's China first-half sales rise 5.3%

General Motors said Tuesday its sales in China, the world's largest auto market, rose 5.3 percent on-year in the first half of 2011 to a record 1.27 million vehicles. June sales alone were up 9.9 percent on-year at 193,878 units, boosted by strong demand for passenger cars made by Shanghai GM, its joint venture with China's largest auto maker SAIC Motor, the US auto giant said in a statement. "Domestic demand for the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands hit new June highs," it said. The rise in June ended two consecutive year-on-year falls in sales posted in April and May. The number of vehicles sold by GM and its joint ventures had dipped 2.7 percent to 190,674 units in May, while April sales fell 4.6 percent year-on-year to 203,367. China, which overtook the US to become the world's top auto market in 2009, has become increasingly important for global players such as GM. Auto sales in China rose more than 32 percent last year to a record 18.06 million units. But the sector overall has since lost steam after Beijing phased out sales incentives such as tax breaks for small engine vehicles to ward off the impact of the global financial crisis. Auto sales in China fell 3.98 percent from a year earlier in May to 1.38 million, declining for the second straight month, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, a government affiliated industry group. Shanghai GM's domestic sales rose 41.4 percent on year in June while sales at GM's commercial vehicle joint venture, SAIC GM Wuling, fell 11.2 percent to 88,027 units due to the expiration of incentive policies, the statement said.