(June 8, 2014) General Motors and its joint ventures sold a May record 276,109 vehicles in China. In the meantime, Ford's China sales grew 32 percent in May with 93,323 wholesales sold compared to 70,449 wholesales in May 2013.

Year-to-date Ford sales were up 39 percent, with 461,473 wholesales sold compared to 332,308 wholesales sold in the first five months of 2013.

General Motors sales increased 9.2 percent from the same month last year. Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling as well as their Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Wuling brands also reached new highs for May sales. In addition, Shanghai GM’s total sales surpassed 9 million units since the joint venture’s establishment in 1997.

Shanghai GM’s domestic sales rose 15.8 percent from May 2013 to 135,921 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 136,625 vehicles in China, an increase of 4.7 percent year on year. FAW-GM sold 3,563 vehicles in the domestic market last month, which was down 24.6 percent from last May.

Buick sales in China totaled 72,558 units in May, an increase of 15.2 percent from the same month last year. Sales of the original Excelle family rose 3.1 percent year on year to 25,520 units. Sales of the Excelle XT and GT were also robust, growing 17.1 percent to 19,209 units. Encore sales hit the 100,000-unit mark since the SUV’s domestic launch at the end of 2012.

Chevrolet sales in China were up 13.3 percent on an annual basis to 57,245 units. Sales of its most popular model, the Cruze, totaled 20,669 units in May, which was an increase of 13.4 percent year on year. It was followed by the Sail, which had sales of 15,742 units, and the Malibu, which had sales of 9,131 units.

Cadillac sales were up 59.2 percent on an annual basis to 6,118 units in May. XTS sales jumped 69.1 percent to 2,542 units and SRX sales grew 10.4 percent to 2,453 units.

Wuling sales in China rose 5.6 percent year on year in May to 128,596 units. The Hong Guang family sold 50,333 units, which was an increase of 84.6 percent year on year. Demand for the Baojun brand was 8,029 units in May.

For the first five months of 2014 as a whole, GM and its joint ventures sold a record 1,473,484 vehicles in China, an increase of 10.7 percent year on year. Shanghai GM’s sales rose 10.5 percent to 686,351 units, SAIC-GM-Wuling’s sales grew 11.6 percent to 761,365 units and FAW-GM’s sales were down 3.5 percent to 25,456 vehicles.

At Ford, passenger car sales for Ford China — which include imported cars — grew 35 percent in May with 71,981 vehicles sold compared to 53,392 in May 2013. Ford has sold 347,547 passenger cars so far in 2014, up 46 percent from 238,100 vehicles sold during the same period last year.

“Our sales are a direct reflection of our continued commitment to bring the best of Ford to China with a great lineup of Ford cars and utilities that offer high quality, great fuel efficiency, world class safety and smart technologies,” said John Lawler, chairman and chief executive officer, Ford Motor China. “We are honored that customers are increasingly deciding that Ford vehicles are the best choice to power their lives.”

Changan Ford Automobile (CAF), Ford's passenger car joint venture, sold 67,454 vehicles in May, up 32 percent from 51,008 sold during the same period last year. Year-to-date sales reached 330,771 vehicles, up 43 percent compared to the first five months of 2013.

Featuring great fuel-efficiency, safety, quality, and smart technologies, demand for both the Ford Mondeo and the Ford Focus continued to increase last month. Ford Mondeo nameplate sales were up 90 percent with 10,395 vehicles sold in May while Ford Focus nameplate sales reached 33,341 vehicles, up 22 percent compared to May 2013.

Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, also continued to turn in steady growth, with sales rising 25 percent in May, selling 21,342 vehicles compared 17,057 sold in May 2013. JMC’s year-to-date sales were up 21 percent with 113,926 vehicles sold, up from 94,208 in the first five months of 2013.

Late last month, Ford China launched its flagship Conservation and Environmental Grants China (CEGC) program, and Level Up!, its capacity-building program for green NGOs.  This year, CEGC will be awarding RMB2 million in grants to better support domestic environmental efforts.