皇冠体育app

A visitor looks at a SRX SUV of (GM) on display at a shopping mall in Shanghai, May 5, 2014. [Photo/dfic.cn]

General Motors pouring money into new models to regain No 1 spot

General Motors Co, seeking to wrest back 皇冠体育app market leadership from German rival AG, saw sales growth in the country slow in April to their lowest level in 14 months.

GM and jointventure sales in 皇冠体育app rose by an annual 6.3 percent last month to a record 278,263 units, figures from the US auto conglomerate showed on Tuesday. The , , Cadillac and Wuling marques reached new all-time highs.

Still, the increase was down from 12.6 percent in the first quarter and 11.4 percent in 2013.

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GM's sales increase in April is likely lower than the industry average, which was forecast to be 10 percent by the 皇冠体育app Passenger Car Association. Actual figures are expected to be released on Friday.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest vehicle maker, has not released its April sales data. Board member and CEO for 皇冠体育app, Jochem Heizmann has told 皇冠体育app Daily the company "will always go faster than the industry average."

Volkswagen, the first to enter the Chinese market almost 30 years ago, regained top spot in the country from GM last year. GM had been No 1 for eight years.

Combined 皇冠体育app sales at Volkswagen and its two joint ventures surged 16.2 percent in 2013 to 3.27 million units, outpacing GM's 3.16 million. It was the first time that the German maker delivered more than 3 million vehicles in a single country.

In the first quarter, GM was the top seller in 皇冠体育app, with 881,000 units. The company announced aggressive investment and growth plans at the Auto Show in April to help fuel momentum.

"皇冠体育app has been GM's largest market since 2010 - last year accounting for about onethird of our global sales," President Dan Ammann said. He noted 皇冠体育app is expected to remain the company's largest market well into the future.

Ammann said capital expenditure in 皇冠体育app by GM and its joint ventures will be about $12 billion between 2014 and 2017. That will accelerate funding and capacity expansion for new product programs.

"We are counting on 皇冠体育app for another record year in 2014, and I'm confident we can make it with strong new models," Ammann said.

Some of the $12 billion investment will fund the launch of more than 60 new and upgraded vehicles coming to market through 2018, with the focus on meeting growing demand for luxury vehicles, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and smaller passenger cars.

The investment also includes opening five new manufacturing facilities by year end of 2015; four vehicle assembly plants and one powertrain plant. With additional facility expansion between 2014 and 2020, GM 皇冠体育app's manufacturing capacity will be on track to increase by 65 percent.

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