GM records second best December sales in Mideast

General Motors Middle East recorded its second best December sales month ever as dealers sold a total of 14,413 vehicles, up 3 percent from the same period last year, supported by Chevrolet as well as GM’s luxury brand Cadillac, which boasted record month and full year figures. December 2012 was also GM’s second highest sales month last year.

In the Middle East, GM sold a total of 137,955 vehicles during 2012, boosted mainly by sales in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Full year sales in Saudi Arabia, GM’s biggest market in the region, rose 16 percent year-on-year while December sales jumped 9 percent to 7,167 vehicles.

In the United Arab Emirates, sales climbed 21 percent during the year and surged 34 percent to 1,429 vehicles in December, the largest year-on-year gain for the month among GCC countries. December was also the best sales month in the UAE since March 2009.

Chevrolet’s rejuvenated passenger car line-up, which includes the Sonic small car, the Spark mini car, the all-new Malibu as well as the Cruze compact car saw another positive performance. Sales rose 10 percent in December year-on-year to 6,730 vehicles while SUV’s crossovers and pick-ups climbed 8 percent to 3,888 vehicles.

Cadillac sales for December increased 9 percent year-on-year while sales for the whole year climbed 16 percent to 4,203 vehicles.

The Cadillac SRX, Cadillac’s best-selling model in the Middle East, recorded its best ever year as sales rose 41 percent.

“I am very proud of the performance of our luxury brand Cadillac which recorded its best sales ever. I expect more records to be broken in the Middle East this year with the launch of the all-new Cadillac ATS late December and the start of sales of the all-new Cadillac XTS in the first quarter of 2013,” said John Stadwick, President and Managing Director of General Motors Middle East.

“December was a strong finish to 2012 and I am confident the sales pace will continue to improve this year as we strengthen the position of all our brands in the region with several new launches,” he added. — SG