AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/05 Report--

Affected by the new type of coronapneumonia epidemic, many domestic automobile enterprises will suffer unprecedented impact. Despite its many brands, SAIC GM sold only 461000 new cars in China in the first quarter of 2020, down 43.5 per cent from 814000 in the same period last year.

According to the Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and Baojun brands of SAIC GM's five major sales brands, the decline is more than 40%, with cumulative sales of only 50900, 129600, 26800 and 82200; even Cadillac, which was the only one to achieve sales growth in the luxury market last year, has declined, indicating that GM's performance this year is not optimistic. Only SAIC GM Wuling won the top domestic sales list in March because of its tenacious market performance, with cumulative brand sales of 172200 vehicles, down 34.33% from the same period last year.

Although negative growth is still the main theme of China's auto market, SAIC General Motors, which once ranked first echelon of China's auto market with North and South Volkswagen, is now not only distanced by North and South Volkswagen, but also often squeezed out the top three seats by Geely. It means that the decline in sales is inevitable under the epidemic, but for GM, the epidemic is only one of the reasons for the decline.

In the face of declining sales, SAIC GM plans to launch a total of more than 60 new or modified models in the five years from 2019 to 2023, including more than 9 domestic new plug-in or pure electric models, covering all mainstream market segments of cars, SUV and luxury cars. To this end, SAIC GM has launched a total of more than 20 new and modified models in 2019. However, sales performance is still declining, the decline is still higher than the average level of the domestic market.

Even if the decline does not stop, SAIC GM still does not change its plan to launch new cars. With the listing of Cadillac CT5, SAIC GM has announced that it will launch its rear-drive luxury sports sedan CT4 on April 8, realizing Cadillac's rich product lineup and fierce competition in the luxury car market.

Buick will also be launched on April 12, the new generation of Buick GL8 Avenir Avia family will add four flagship and six arrays to compete in the high-end MPV market. On the other hand, the sedan chair has launched the Yinglong four-cylinder model model, which will be sold together with the three-cylinder engine Yinglong model.

For Chevrolet, it has opened the pre-sale of seven high-end SUV trailblazers, which will be listed on April 16, helping Chevrolet brand to open up the medium and large SUV market and complete the product layout of Chevrolet brand from small, compact, medium to medium-large SUV.

In addition, GM will also transform the field of new energy vehicles. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said recently that it will invest $20 billion to build a third-generation global electric vehicle platform (BEV3), which will be similar to Volkswagen's MEB platform, which will be a counterweight to electric vehicles such as Tesla.

According to SAIC GM's plan, GM will steadily promote product development and listing, and is expected to exceed its plan to launch 10 new energy vehicles in the Chinese market between 2016 and 2020. Chevrolet's first all-electric intercity sedan, Chevrolet, was officially launched in February; Buick's first all-electric SUV VELITE 7 and Wuling Hongguang MINI EV and Glory electric cars will also hit the market soon.

As GM accelerates its de-globalization strategy and is gradually withdrawing from market plans other than the United States and China, we can see that the development of its business in China is undoubtedly a top priority for GM. After all, China, as the world's largest single market, will also be the focus of every car company, not to mention that GM is currently one of the most advantageous multinational car companies in China, accounting for 40% of GM's cumulative sales in 2019.

Wang Yongqing, head of SAIC GM, has announced that SAIC GM will strive to sell 3 million vehicles a year by 2020, increasing its market share from 9.2 per cent to 10 per cent. But in the industry, SAIC GM needs more to maintain the 2019 sales barrier.

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