SAIC - GM : 2009-2026 (H1)

SAIC and GM established a joint venture agreement to manufacture and sell cars in China. In 1999 Buick Regal cars started rolling off the assembly line. The data here picks up from 2009 with three brands being assembled by SAIC-GM. This excludes imported vehicles but that would be minimal at best. 

The 2025 figure is for nine months only but all the others 12 months. The Total column is from SAIC so is untouched. The brand volumes are from other sources and they don't always quite align with each other. They also at times vary slightly from the SAIC figure. In such cases, the Chev figure is adjusted as it is the one that is the issue.

We will briefly discuss each brand separately. 

Buick is a popular brand here. When the banks were insisting on GM reducing its number of brands, Buick was spared due to its popularity in China. Over 700,000 were assembled in 2009 and from 2015 to 2018 sales exceeded one million. 

From there, sales consistently slipped downward until 2024 when they almost halved. With three months to go in 2025, sales will surely increase if not by much.

The Excelle model (photo above) has been the biggest selling model for most of the joint venture's history. When sales ended in 2022, the Envision took over as the best selling model by default but in no way compensated for the loss of the Excelle. 

Cadillac: It played a bit part for a while then came good around 2016. The inevitable slump came in 2024 but 2025 will be better. The XTS, XT5 and currenly CT5 have been the strongest selling models. 

Chevrolet: It may surprise some that Chevrolet has never outsold Buick in China. It got close in 2014 but then lost that battle. In 2024 sales collapsed and there is no revival coming in 2025. Speculation is rife that Chevrolet will be withdrawn from the market, but there is nothing official on that.

Some popular models have been the Lova, Cruze (photo below), Monza and Cavalier. 

Data source: SAIC and others. 

Conclusion: With competition heating up in China, the SAIC-GM joint venture has been badly affected. It is rallying in 2025, so future prospects are positive despite the recent downturn in sales. 

GM US Model Sales - Part 1: 2023/24

GM has a four brand portfolio it uses to satisfy its US customers. How are they faring in these challenging times? Let's find out by looking at the 'working class' divisions, Chevrolet and GMC. 

Chevrolet: This is the volume brand for General Motors with 1,745,809 sales. That's up 2% on so a solid result. It contributed nearly 65% of GM's US sales.

The big Silverado pick up gained 1% so that will be good for the bottom line. The Equinox (picture above / +11%) and Trax (+83%) complete the top three list. 

The Bolt electric EUV was a crossover version of the Bolt hatchback which have both been discontinued with a new model planned but not as yet. The Camaro muscle car has also finished its run for the time being. An SUV version will come out soon but whether that would fit the muscle car tag remains to be seen.

GMC: The truck making brand; that is SUVs and pick ups to be precise. The Sierra, Canyon and Hummer make up the pick up side of the business (picture below) while the Terrain, Yukon, Acadia and Hummer belong to the SUV range. Hummer seems to straddle the two categories with both pick up and SUV variants, its sales not broken down into each.

The marque makes up 23% of GM's sales with a 9% gain in volume. Canyon sales were up 70% while at the other end of the spectrum the Acadia was down 26%. A third generation Acadia has recently been released.

Chevrolet Camaro Yearly Production Numbers (1967-2023)

The Chev Camaro started life in 1967 as an answer to the Ford Mustang, which was hugely popular. The Camaro was a success and still is today but it never quite knocked the Mustang of its perch. Considering that GM nearly always outperformed Ford in volume, this was not something the General was used to. (Mustang data can be viewed by clicking here).

The Mustang has been in constant production and averaged 184,000 units, the Camaro wasn't manufactured between 2003 and 2008 inclusive. Even so, for all the years it was made, the average was 128,700. That's impressive in its own right, if you don't compare it with the Mustang (like I just did).

There have been six generations of the Camaro, made for North America with a few finding homes elsewhere. They are soon to be sold in Australia and NZ with RHD conversions done by HSV. The numbers won't be huge but it shows that there is demand for muscle cars. The Mustang is already a strong selling model in these parts, helping make a business case for this initiative.

The figures below are from more than one source and I found these were not usually consistent. So they should be taken as reasonably accurate and hopefully, the swings and roundabouts effect evens out those differences.

Each series is coloured, with a gap for when there was no production. When one model changed over to another, that generally isn't shown here. As the Camaro was made in both the USA and Canada, that was when the change of generations became evident. 

The last Camaro rolled off the line at the end of 2023 and although GM plans to resurrect the name in the future, no timeframe has been stated. In all likelihood, they don't know at this stage either.

Picture source: Netcarshow. Last updated 7.04.234

GMC Model Production : 2020-22

The GMC brand has been an exclusively North American one. That's not uncommon for US marques but for those outside the NA region, a lack of knowledge of the models and even what the brand represents is for many either unknown or sketchy.

It was founded around 1902 and soon came to be owned by GM. It has always been known for making trucks and used to make buses as well. Its vehicles use the same platforms as Chevrolet for obvious cost benefit. The bigger trucks and buses are no longer made but SUVs and pickup trucks make up the range now.

Sierra: A large pickup truck (pictured above), is the mainstay of the range accounting for half of the production. It's made in the US and Mexico. It's related to the Chevrolet Silverado.

Terrain: A midsized crossover manufactured in Mexico, it's gaining in popularity. The Chevrolet Equinox is related. 

Yukon: This very large, aptly named SUV comes in standard and XL configurations, depending on how much room you think you need in a vehicle. The Chevrolet Tahoe is closely related. (Regular Yukon picture below).

Acadia: Another sizable SUV that shares a platform with the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and Cadillac XT6. 

Canyon:  In a country where big is good, the medium sized Canyon pickup is a modest selling model within the GMC range. It's related to the Chevrolet Colorado. The fact that Colorado has many canyons may have influenced the naming of them. 

Savana: A van is the last piece in the puzzle. It comes as a cargo van and a passenger MPV and is closely related to the Chevrolet Express. Understandably, not having the volume of other models in the range.

Summary: Almost exclusively for North America, the Sierra has just started to be sold in Korea. The data below is as accurate as I can get but production figures are not as easily obtained. If anyone can improve on any of the information here presented, please leave a comment below or email me at rdc1234@gmail.com.  

GM Korea Plant Sales : 2021-22

I did an article about this last year with some extra data you may want to apprise yourself of. Simply click here to read it. As for the current situation. GM persists with its operations in Korea, despite little local interest in the cars that make. Exports are required to make it pay and that's the plan.

With domestic sales, cars are down 40%, RVs =15% and light commercials -61%. Collectively, the domestic total is -31%. Not exactly successful.

Moving on to production, the Spark, Traz and Malibu have all been phased out in 2022, with the Trailblazer continuing and a new small crossover to be added in 2023. The production goal is 500,000 units, quite a target if achieved. It is intended that several electric models are to follow. 

Chevrolet India Model Sales : 2011-17

GM has been a part of the Indian car scene for many years. In 2003, Chevrolet became the brand the company used. From 2004 the Optra and Tavera (right) were assembled. The Aveo (2006), Spark (2007 - pic below), Captiva (2008) and Cruze models (2009) quickly followed. 

2011: With this range of models, GM reached a respectable 4.4% share of the market, slightly down on a strong 2010. The Sail arrived this year but was too late to make an impact. The Optra (Lacetti) ended its run. 111,000 units were sold.

                                          2012: The Aveo said its goodbyes but market share fell and a new model was needed. 93,000 registrations were achieved.

2013: The slow selling Captiva was discontinued, but a hatch variant was added to the Sail and the Enjoy medium MPV was added to the range. Despite that, it had little effect on market share. Sales were down to 87,000.

2014: Sales fell further (%5,500) with no new models to spur things along and existing ones in decline.

2015: It was clear the market wasn't a viable option for GM so it decided to end sales there. The problems then started as the union refused to accept this. GM continued making cars until the end of 2020 but only for export. In India closing plants is expensive and even very difficult to do.

GM Korea Plant Sales : 2020-21

I thought GM would be making tracks
but instead, they are still making Trax

According to GM's Chevrolet pressroom, the Korean operation is substantial. I assume it's essentially up to date but some of the detail is not current. So here is what it states when it comes to facilities. 

At the Bupyeong HQ, the Trax, Trailblazer and Malibu are assembled. There is also an engine shop. The Changwon plant makes the Spark, Damas, Labo and engines. At Boryeong are made transmissions, testing is done at the Cheongna Proving Ground. There is also a technical centre, stated as GM's second largest. 

So what does all of this produce? Below we see 225,000 cars 3,500 light commercial vehicles. That's 36% down on 2020. The passenger car figures are a mixture of domestic sales and export plant sales. The LCVs are local sales only and I believe are being discontinued.

GM has recently been decisively active in pruning its global operations. Looking at the Korean wing I wondered why the hatchet hadn't fallen here as well. Rather, it is seen as an opportunity to increase production, mainly for export. 

Recently GM showed what it wants to do. A new compact crossover is to be made here and in future electric vehicles. It needs to use what is here to greater effect and this is the strategy going forward. 

Opel & Ford Germany : 1977-2021

Opel and Ford were brands that invested heavily in Germany and both sold well there. For many years they were second and third best selling brands behind VW. Occasionally Mercedes got past Ford into third but would fall back again. In the UK Ford always outsold Vauxhall (Opel) but in Germany, it was the other way around. 

The chart immediately below shows market share and goes up to 20%. The graph covers from 1977 to 1999 and Opel (red) was consistently in the ascendency compared to Ford (blue). What you can't see below is that Mercedes passed Ford again in 1998 and apart from one lapse in 2009, stayed ahead of Ford until today. 

In fact, we can see that toward the end of the graph both Opel and Ford were declining in market share in the country which raises the question as to whether that slide was to be arrested.

Below we see from 2000 to 2021 on a larger scale of 12% share so don't compare the two graphs by physical size but by the percentage numbers on the sides. 

Ford leveled off from 2000 and held its share consistently. Opel's decline continued to 2012 when there was a slight uplift. By 2012 they had both been pushed back by Mercedes, BMW and Audi to fifth and sixth. Apart from a brief moment for Ford in 2019, neither have since matched the three marques that had passed them.

Ford overtook Opel in 2017 and in that same year, Opel was acquired by PSA. Ford then had a mini surge to 2019 then suddenly a change of policy has sent Ford plunging to seventh place by 2021. Opel was seventh in 2020 but is back up to fifth for 2021 in a possible revival of fortunes. 
 

So what do we learn from all of this? That mainstream manufacturers in have a lot of competition and they have to carefully guard their reputation by offering a strong, consistent product range. 

Opel lost its reputation as a top notch mainstream brand and ended up chasing volume to keep factories busy, but in the process became unprofitable. PSA is working hard to turn that around, focusing on product. That is showing signs of success but it's not a quick fix. 

Ford has done better in regard to maintaining a competitive range but is now following a global strategy of moving away from passenger cars, which will impact on the number of units sold. It needs a strong SUV / crossover range if that is all its passenger car range will be comprised of. 

Much is resting on models such as this for Ford

Muscle Car America

When I think of what is termed muscle cars, I think of the US, especially the 1960's. They are not the sort of car I have had much to do with and they were never that popular in NZ. So some of you dear readers will more au fait with them than I am. What I can offer is a bit of insight and data. 

Ford Mustang: I loved the look of the original model which went from 1963 to 1973. Sales were initially huge but soon settled at a more modest level. The peak of US sales was 540,800 in 1966 but down to 120,500 in 1972. I collated production numbers which can be seen by clicking here. That data would include exports. 

In 2020, sales were 61,000 which is a far cry from initial sales but reflective of recent trends toward less cars and more SUVs. 2020 was a poor year for car sales anyway so it will be interesting to see if any sort of rebound will happen in 2021.

Dodge Challenger: This is a harder model to follow historically. it's first full year of sales was 1970 and that only reached 54,000 units. It went down from there and ended in 1974. The second generation surfaced in 1978 and ended in 1983 but was a rebadged Mitsubishi so not a US muscle car. 

Then it returned in 2008 as the real deal and has continued since then. It currently outsells the Camaro, which I find surprising, given the size of the respective companies. 53,000 sales in 2020 was a fine result, not that far removed from the 2019 total. 

Chevrolet Camaro: GM reacted to Ford's pony car with the Camaro. Its 1967 sales total of 206,000 wasn't a bad effort but like the Mustang it fell away pretty quickly. Only 45,000 found buyers in 1972. It has continued through to today, with only a break from 2003 to 2008. Production numbers can be viewed by clicking here.

As sales couldn't even reach 30,000 for 2020, it was a sad result. While GM has apparently committed to producing the model until at least 2026, beyond that who knows? 

GM also ran the Pontiac Firebird and shared its platform with the Camaro. It ran from 1967 to 2002 so doesn't feature in the data below.   

Saab Euro Sales (By Model) : 2000-2015

The first Saab car was released in 1949 by Saab AB, an aerospace company. That was the 92, an aerodynamic shaped car as you would expect from a brand run by an aircraft company. We all know that Saab is no more but while it was around, Europe and North America were its main markets.

GM took a 50% share of the company in 1989 and in the year 2000 decided to take the remaining percentage. The data below starts form that point. How did things go under GM's control?

2000-04. Two models were the staple of the company, a medium sized 900 that became the 9-3 and the larger 9000 / 9-5. Both sold reasonably well through this period, with its home market Sweden taking a third of European sales. However, a range of just two cars is too limited in today's world.

Model / Year	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000
9-3 / 900	52,378	44,177	37,462	40,159	44,317
9-5 / 9000	28,743	29,885	35,179	34,179	35,511
Others	37	36	29	31	30
Total	81,158	74,098	72,670	74,369	79,858

2005-09. To widen the range, the 9-7 SUV was introduced and sold in some European markets but in minimal numbers. A 9-2 model (Subaru Impreza) was sold in North America. Neither were successful and GM decided to rid itself of Saab. The sales figures for the 9-7 from 2008 to 2020 are estimates on my part.

Model / Year	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
9-3	21,385	52,135	64,343	63,160	58,400
9-5	5,097	12,576	19,234	26,066	23,144
9-7	70	135	244	513	2
Others	77	6	5	16	18
Total	26,559	64,852	83,826	89,755	81,564

2010-14. A Netherlands based company (Spyker) bought Saab but about a year later financial problems brought production to a halt. Efforts since to revive the brand in Europe have come to nothing. The NEVs brand was used briefly.

Model / Year	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
9-3	272	78	1,109	10,137	15,793
9-5		45	319	3,244	5,605
9-7					60
Others	0	23	0	0	5
Total	272	146	1,428	13,381	21,463

2015. Just 137 NEVs were sold. Looking back on the company, I'm not sure why GM bought Saab and what it expected from the brand. Saab needed plenty of money to expand its range and also ensure it retained its unique character. Badge-engineering models is cost effective but needs to be done carefully. It was not handled well at all.

I would be interested in what others have to add to this subject. Please leave a comment below.

Picture source: Netcarshow.

For others in the series, please click on the brand name below.

Alfa Romeo - DR Motors - Fiat Part 1 - Honda - Hyundai Part 1 -
Infiniti - Jaguar - Kia - Lancia - Land Rover - Mazda -
Mitsubishi - Nissan - Opel/Vauxhall - Peugeot Part 1 -
Renault Part 1 - SEAT - Škoda - Subaru - Volvo

Cadillac USA Sales : 2010-2018

The XT5

The march of the imported premium marques was relentless and Cadillac was moving away from huge barges to cars that were more in line with where modern tastes now wanted. That posed a risk of not measuring up head to head.

2010-2014:

Some models were deleted and the new compact ATS was introduced. Overall. sales were holding up OK but not keeping up with the imported competition. The XTS replaced the poor selling DTS in 2013 but didn't set the sales chart on fire.

Model	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
SRX	53,578	56,776	57,485	56,905	51,094
CTS	31,115	32,343	46,979	55,042	45,656
ATS	29,890	38,319	7,008
XTS/DTS	24,335	32,578	15,514	11,589	18,640
Escalade	19,482	12,592	12,615	15,079	16,118
Escalade ESV	10,987	7,950	8,083	8,388	8,674
ELR	1,310	6
Escalade EXT	53	1,972	1,934	2,036	2,082
STS		7	164	3,338	4,473
XLR				12	188
Total US Sales	170,750	182,543	149,782	152,389	146,925

2015-19: 

The XT5 took over from the SRX and CT6 was a belated return of the large executive car. The recent addition of the sub-compact SUV named the XT4 is an interesting addition. All this hasn't stopped sales falling and Cadillac is now the sixth best selling marque in its home market. 

Model	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
XT5/SRX		60,566	68,468	61,624	68,850
Escalade		23,032	22,994	23,604	21,230
XTS		17,729	16,275	22,171	23,112
Escalade ESV		13,000	14,700	15,488	14,691
CTS		11,220	10,344	15,911	19,485
ATS		10,860	13,100	21,505	26,873
CT6		9,669	10,542	9,169
XT4		7,785
ELR			17	534	1,024
Total US Sales		153,861	156,440	170,006	175,265

The XT4 

For the 1980-89 period, just click here.
For the 2000-09 decade, simply click here.