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Chevy drives speedy GM Europe H1 sales growth

July 10, 2007

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General Motors sales outgrew the broader European car market in the first half of the year although sales of its Saab division declined. The automaker informed that the growth was possible mainly due to the high demand for GM’s Korean-built Chevrolet brand cars, according to a report by Reuters. The European division of the U.S. carmaker said in a statement that vehicle sales increased by 5.3 percent to a record 1,127,871 units and the market share rose up to 9.6 percent.

GM Europe's vice president for sales and marketing, Jonathan Browning, said that the company’s different strategies for Western and Eastern Europe allow sales to grow while revenue performance and overall sales quality continues to improve. According to GM Europe, June was the 50th consecutive record month for Chevrolet with its wide range of affordable cars like the Nubira, Matiz and Kalos which were previously sold under GM's Korean Daewoo brand. The low-price Chevy brand car sales grew by 10.3 percent to 214,918 vehicles last month. While Chevy sales grew 34 percent in the first half to 215,315 units, its Swedish brand Saab has been struggling, sales dropping 10.7 percent to 45,275 cars. The larger mid-market Opel/Vauxhall brands grew sales by a marginal 0.8 percent to 863,303 vehicles helped by a 50 percent rise in sales of its revamped Corsa.

GM Europe also distributes Cadillacs, Hummers and Corvettes, but the combined first-half sales constituted just a fraction of a percent for the division.