GM Praises 2008 Sales Despite North American Comedown

Despite the fact that the company struggled to face the global recession and begged for money from the United States government, General Motors says 2008 was a pretty good year when it comes to global sales as it managed to sell no less than 8.35 million vehicles. GM increased sales in most emerging markets, the company said in a press statement, including Latin America, Africa and Middle East and Pacific regions. In addition, 2008 represented the third consecutive year that brought more than 2 million sold vehicles in Europe, GM proudly said in a statement.

"GM's 2008 sales performance shows that we are continuing to take advantage of new emerging market opportunities and are meeting customer needs with fuel-efficient products that offer compelling design and great value - such as the award-winning Opel/Vauxhall Insignia in Europe, the Buick Excelle in China and the Corsa in Latin America," Jonathan Browning, vice president, global sales, service and marketing, said today. "We saw sales volume increases in the key four emerging markets of Brazil (up 10 percent), Russia (up 30 percent), India (up 9 percent), and China (up 6 percent)."

Chevrolet remained a top brand for General Motors as sales in Asia Pacific grew 14 percent in 2008 compared to the year before. In the Latin America, Africa and Middle East, Chevrolet deliveries were increased by 3 percent while in Europe the brand grew 11 percent and passed the 500,000 units milestone for the first month.

"The challenges in the global financial markets, including credit tightening, the drop in commodity prices, and economic uncertainty continue to negatively impact overall demand for new vehicles," Browning added. "For the total global industry, we saw about 3.5 million fewer vehicles sold in 2008 than the previous year."

General Motors admitted the North American market brought almost the biggest drop in sales ever, with deliveries decreased by 21 percent in 2008. However, the all-new Chevrolet Malibu sedan brought the highest percentage gain in annual sales volume (39 percent), despite all these disappointing figures, the American automaker explained in the press statement.