Strong crossover demand boosts General Motors’ July sales by 25 percent in the Middle East

General Motors’ dealers in the Middle East reported total sales of 12,863 vehicles in July, a 25 percent increase versus a year ago, driven by sales of crossover vehicles.

The impressive sales figure was the result of continued robust sales throughout the region for the company’s line-up of passenger cars, crossovers, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickups across the Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac brands.

The biggest gain in sales was achieved by GM’s crossover vehicles, which increased by 42 percent in July. This growth was propelled by strong sales of the Chevrolet Traverse, the Cadillac SRX and the newly launched Chevrolet Captiva and GMC Terrain.

Over the same period sales of passenger cars increased by 21 percent and sales of SUVs were up 31 percent, while pickups experienced 34 percent sales growth.

In addition, total sales of Chevrolet rose by 28 percent compared to July 2010, while sales of GMC experienced a 22 percent increase. Cadillac achieved the highest monthly total sales growth among GM Middle East’s three brands with a 45 percent increase in July.

The strong figures represent GM Middle East’s highest monthly total sales result in 2011 and its tenth consecutive month of double-digit total sales growth in 2011. It contributed to year-to-date total sales growth of 22 percent for the first seven months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

Retail sales, those to individual customers, rose 43 percent versus July 2010 and represented a healthy 70 percent of GM Middle East’s total sales in the month. Year-to-date retail sales increased by 52 percent for the first seven months of 2011.

“We are continuing to drive showroom traffic, which is reflected in our continued strong sales results throughout 2011,” said John Stadwick, President and Managing Director of GM Middle East Operations. 

“It is pleasing to see that the new vehicles that we launched in early 2011, including the GMC Terrain, the GMC Acadia Denali, the Chevrolet Captiva and the Camaro Convertible, are already having a positive impact on our sales across the region.”

Passenger Cars

Total sales of GM passenger cars grew by 21 percent during July, driven by strong sales of the Chevrolet Caprice (up 144 percent) and the Cadillac CTS (up 52 percent)

Sport Utility Vehicles

Across Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, total sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) increased by 31 percent in July. The Chevrolet Tahoe (up 57 percent) and the GMC Yukon (up 34 percent) were the best performing SUV nameplates during the month.

Crossovers

Crossover sales across Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac were up 42 percent in July led by strong sales of the Chevrolet Traverse (up 86 percent), Cadillac SRX (up 64 percent) and the newly launched Chevrolet Captiva and GMC Terrain crossover vehicles.

Pickups

Total sales of the Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and Colorado, and the GMC Sierra, increased by 34 percent during July. Sales of the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado pickups were up an impressive 62 percent and 34 percent respectively.