General Motors Corp reported its sales in China rose 6 percent in 2008 from a year earlier, the slowest pace in five years as consumers tightened their wallets amid the financial crisis.

GM sold a combined 1.09 million vehicles last year, against 1.03 million units in 2007, according to its statement yesterday. Sales grew 19 percent year on year in 2007.

Shanghai General Motors Co Ltd, its passenger car venture with SAIC Motor Corp, saw an 8 percent sales decline to 458,642 units due to a limited number of new models. Sales of its minivan maker SAIC-GM-Wuling gained 17.9 percent to 647,296 units.

"A series of negative impacts including natural disasters, rising fuel prices and a global financial crunch accelerated the downturn in China's auto industry," Kevin Wale, president of GM China, said in the statement.

United States-based GM, which just received a rescue loan of US$4 billion from the US government as part of a bailout of the ailing American auto industry, is banking on emerging markets like China to offset a sales plunge there.

But vehicle sales in the world's second largest auto market also slowed as the global crisis hit the Chinese economy, eroded consumer purchasing power and hurt vehicle exports.

(Shanghai Daily January 7, 2009)