GM's Buick LaCrosse, one of the models taking the country's second and third tier cities by storm and helping deliver a record sales month.

US carmaker General Motors (GM) achieved an all-time monthly sales record in China in September, boosted by robust demand in many of the country's small and medium-sized cities.

The company said that it sold 181,148 vehicles throughout the country last month, confirming China as the world's number one vehicle market. The figure was up from 152,365 units in August.

In the first nine months of the year, GM's China sales surged by 55.6 percent to 1.29 million units, compared to a year earlier.

This strong performance helped GM, the largest vehicle provider in China, maintain an estimated market share of 13.4 percent over the period.

Commenting on the figures, Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said: "Sales continue to surpass forecasts as nearly all market segments experience growth. A major market driving force this year has been first-time car buyers in China's second, third and fourth-tier cities."

January-to-September sales for the entire Chinese vehicle market have not yet been disclosed. Sales from other market leaders, such as Volkswagen and Toyota, were also unavailable at the time of going to press.

GM's joint venture with the SAIC Motor Corp sold 480,202 vehicles over the period, up 40.4 percent from a year ago. Sales from GM's micro vehicle tie-up with SAIC and the Wuling Motor Corp were also up, jumping by 64.5 percent to 801,869 units.

The Detroit-based group's new commercial vehicle joint venture with the FAW Corp, launched in August, sold 8,780 light-duty trucks and vans last month.

Analysts said GM has benefited considerably from China's incentive policies in the vehicle market. In January, the government slashed the purchasing tax on vehicles with engine capacity of less than 1.6 liters to 5 percent. It was previously 10 percent.

Wale predicted that GM's 2009 sales in China would grow by at least 40 percent from almost 1.1 million units last year. This would see China's entire vehicle market reaching between 11.5 million to 12 million units, compared to 9.1 million units last year.

At the end of last month, GM launched a wholly-owned science lab in China, the first of its kind in the country to be established by a global carmaker. This is intended to strengthen the company's local research and development capabilities.

(China Daily October 12, 2009)