Passenger cars drive General Motors April Middle East sales up by 29 percent

General Motors dealers in the Middle East reported 12,264 total sales in April, a 29 percent increase verus April a year ago, driven by GM’s recently launched passenger vehicles. Combined sales of GM passenger cars increased by 38 percent in April. Chevrolet sales rose by 33 percent, while GMC sales increased by 26 percent and Cadillac posted 21 percent sales growth versus April a year ago. 

Retail sales, those to individual customers, recorded an impressive 76 percent growth versus last April with cars and SUVs up 158 percent and 58 percent respectively. Combined retail sales of Aveo, Optra, Cruze and Malibu were up 306 percent. April deliveries to commercial accounts dropped by 25 percent. Retail sales represented 73 percent of total April sales. 

“Our April sales are indicative of our continuous effort to drive profitable sales growth” said John Stadwick, President and Managing Director of GM Middle East Operations. “We will strive to sustain these retail sales levels, particularly as we have several new vehicle launches planned for the remainder of the year.” 

GM’s newest vehicles sales soar 33 percent in April 

Combined sales for vehicles launched since September 2009 – Chevrolet Cruze, Malibu, Camaro and Captiva; GMC Terrain; and Cadillac SRX and CTS Coupe – jumped 33 percent during April and are up 11 percent for the year through April. The Chevrolet Malibu was the star performer with total sales up 62 percent versus April a year ago and 25 percent year to date. 

Passenger Cars 

Total sales of GM passenger cars improved 38 percent during April, led by the sale of Aveos, Optras, Cruzes and Malibus. Retail sales of GM passenger cars climbed 158 percent for the month. For the year to date, retail sales of GM’s passenger cars were up 160 percent. 

SUVs 

The Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac brands April total SUV sales were up by 41 percent. Retail sales of GM SUVs increased by 58 percent during the month of April. For the year to date, retail sales of Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac SUVs improved by 13 percent. Combined sales of full-size SUVs increased by 49 percent in April. Chevrolet Tahoe posted best month since launch with 1,537 total sales. Retail sales for Tahoe were up 108 percent for April. 

Crossovers

Total combined sales of Chevrolet Captiva and Traverse, GMC Terrain and Accadia, and Cadillac SRX increased by 14 percent with retail sales up by 6 percent versus a year ago. For the year to date, retail sales for GM crossovers are down by 14 percent. 

Pickups

Total sales of Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and Colorado and GMC Sierra dropped by 12 percent during April. Retail sales for GM pickups increased by 30 percent. For the year to date, retail sales of GM pickups were up 46 percent. 

The strong performance in April represented a fourth consecutive month of double-digit sales growth of 19 percent year to date.