General Motors, the largest overseas carmaker in China, said yesterday its Chinese vehicle sales rose 6 per cent last year, down sharply from strong double-digit growth in previous years, writes Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai.
But that figure masked a sharp decline in passenger car sales. Sales from GM's joint venture with Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), China's largest locally owned carmaker, fell 7 per cent last year to 445,709.
Commercial vehicle sales from a joint venture in southern China remained strong, rising 17.9 per cent last year, thanks to sales of a popular commercial minivan. Overall, GM and its joint ventures sold a record 1.09m vehicles last year in China, the world's second-largest car market.
Kevin Wale, head of GM China, said he expected sales this year to “remain steady”. China would remain the world's fastest-growing car market over the next decade.
参考译文：
通用汽车(General Motors)昨日表示，该公司去年在中国的汽车销量增长6%，远低于前几年强劲的两位数增幅。通用汽车是在华经营的最大海外汽车制造商。
但这一数字掩饰了轿车销量的大幅下滑。在通用汽车与中国最大本土汽车生产商上海汽车(Shanghai Automotive)的合资企业，去年销量下降了7%，至445709辆。
得益于一款受欢迎的小型商用面包车，通用汽车在中国南部一家合资企业的商用车销售去年仍然表现强劲，增长了17.9%。总体而言，通用汽车及其合资企业去年在中国的汽车销量达到创纪录的109万辆。中国是全球第二大汽车市场。
通用汽车中国总裁甘文维(Kevin Wale)表示，他预计今年的销量将“保持平稳”。在未来10年，中国仍将是全球增长最快的汽车市场。
