GM says 2008 China sales growth slowed to 6.1%

SHANGHAI: US auto giant General Motors said Monday its sales growth in China slowed to 6.1 per cent in 2008, less than a third of the rate seen the previous year as the economic slowdown affected demand.

GM and its joint ventures sold more than 1.09 million vehicles in China in 2008, its biggest market outside the US, the company said in a statement.

The 2008 growth figure was down significantly from 2007's 18.5 percent increase over the previous year.

"A series of natural disasters and an increase in fuel prices earlier in the year exacerbated the impact of the global economic downturn in China," Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China Group said in a statement.

China's auto sales fell 14.6 percent in November from the same month a year earlier, according to industry association figures.

China's economy is under huge pressure due to the global economic crisis, with overall growth in the third quarter at nine percent, the lowest in more than five years.

The World Bank has forecast that growth in the Chinese economy will slow to 7.5 percent in 2009, a level not seen for 19 years.