GM sells 3.2 million vehicles in China in 2010

[skuthorp]

"In 2010, GM and its joint ventures sold 2,351,610 vehicles in China. GM has been the sales leader among global automakers in China for six consecutive years"

It's interesting, it seems that for Chinas middle class an 'America" vehicle is desireable.
http://media.gm.com/content/media/cn/en/news.detail.brand_gm.html/content/Pages/news/cn/en/2011/Feb/0209_sales

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Three points here:

First, a Japanese vehicle is not only "undesirable" but downright rare, owing to a mistake made by the Japanese car companies in the early 90's; they did not take seriously a Government directive requiring increased local content, and found themselves sidelined by the Europeans, espescially VW, who built factories and scooped the market.

Second, US luxury brands like Cadillac do have considerable cachet and the "aura" of those brands extends over other US cars.

Third, both GM and Ford are well set up in China and they use good marketing.

[LeeG]

http://thereferencefiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/image001.png

OECD consumption is going down. No problem, we'll all go out and buy vehicles that get better mileage.

[RonW]

Well why not...we ain't got any money...it is all in china...

Lee is right, let the chineeese burn that filthy oil and we will have clean air riding our bicycles..

[LeeG]

Well why not...we ain't got any money...it is all in china...

Lee is right, let the chineeese burn that filthy oil and we will have clean air riding our bicycles..

and Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, especially Iraq, can't forget Iraq. Living beyond our means and the planets means is all our doing. Now people who got by with much less get a turn. And our turn is doing with less. Unfortunately deniers and cornucopeans will hold out for silver bullets and magical solutions.

this Shell Oil exec. says we're entering a "zone of uncertainty" as supply doesn't meet demand. Reduced demand is being forced upon us and we can chose to live with that, or deny it. Shell describes how we can deal with this uncertainty, planning for it, or scrambling in response to it. Scrambling is the default setting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Yc5t5xro7RA


http://oilandglory.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/14/the_coming_misery_that_big_oil_discusses_behind_cl osed_doors


Today, Shell returned with an update. The company said that the 2008 financial crisis interrupted the slide it predicted, but that the clock has begun ticking again. If the world does not change how it uses energy, its scenario will hold true.

In recent weeks, we've heard almost identical energy-consumption projections from ExxonMobil (here is Exxon's neat slide show), BP and now Shell: The world will use about 40 percent more energy by 2030. The difference is that Exxon and BP more or less just toss out the numbers, while Shell suggests that one might consider running for the hills, oh, sometime around 2016 or 2017 before everyone else shows up. You all can plan to return home around 2030, Shell has said, when the world has come to its senses and adopted all the efficiency and price-signal mechanisms that some forward-thinkers are suggesting now.

..

Shell's 2008 and 2011 reports actually contain two scenarios. The one described above, called "Scramble," is what it projects will happen if the world continues on its current course. A more optimistic version, called "Blueprints," includes a squeeze but far less despair because the world acts to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

Shell's latest, 78-page report confirms its previous finding that in just four years, our usual sources of fuel are not going to meet growing global demand, so that there is going to be much switching to dirty coal, plus more use of agricultural-based biofuels.

[Tylerdurden]

I was reading the other day where auto sales in China have seen a very significant drop off. Mostly due to tax breaks coming to an end there. Seems eerily similar to to the situation here.

[RonW]

Hey LeeG.. are you concerned about running out of oil, or all this terrible pollution caused by it's useage ?

If you want to save the enviorment, then why aren't you screaming over chemtrails or another name is cloud seeding.?

[Dan McCosh]

FWIW, GM produces 37 models in China, which are the result of a series of joint ventures with Chinese companies. Most are relatively low-cost cars not seen in the US.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

I wounder if GM and It's partner are using leachable lead paint and plastics that off-gas noxious VOCs.

[Tylerdurden]

Hey LeeG.. are you concerned about running out of oil, or all this terrible pollution caused by it's useage ?

If you want to save the enviorment, then why aren't you screaming over chemtrails or another name is cloud seeding.?

No No No....The government is doing that so its good. It's what the people do that is bad.

[LeeG]

Hey LeeG.. are you concerned about running out of oil, or all this terrible pollution caused by it's useage ?

If you want to save the enviorment, then why aren't you screaming over chemtrails or another name is cloud seeding.?

not at all, I'm concerned about price volatility and folks who's businesses operate on thin margins handling it as well as people who depend on lots of heating oil to stay warm. Never occured to me living on the west coast that folks would fill up 250gallon fuel tanks to heat their houses 'till I moved out here. The other thing that's bothersome is the huge mass of vehicles we are stuck with and how long it'll take for technological fixes to address higher oil costs. Basically it'll take decades and the "zone of uncertainty" the Shell guy is speaking of is NOW.
There is no "saving the environment". We live in it. People can crap in it randomly or take care of their crap so it's not a problem for others.

[LeeG]

FWIW, GM produces 37 models in China, which are the result of a series of joint ventures with Chinese companies. Most are relatively low-cost cars not seen in the US.

do they have a similar power/weight ratio as the average car sold in the US?

[Dan McCosh]

do they have a similar power/weight ratio as the average car sold in the US? No. The Asian and European markets generally are sized about one to two market classes below the U.S., and China is similar.

[LeeG]

No. The Asian and European markets generally are sized about one to two market classes below the U.S., and China is similar.

thx, I did some quick googling. Amazing the Buick Excelle was second best seller in '09. I was expecting a lot more micro cars but the top ten were all compact size like Corollas, Hyundais and a few mid size cars.

[Dan McCosh]

thx, I did some quick googling. Amazing the Buick Excelle was second best seller in '09. I was expecting a lot more micro cars but the top ten were all compact size like Corollas, Hyundais and a few mid size cars. Micro cars sell where they are dictated by legislation. They generally don't get great fuel economy compared to larger compacts.