GM China outsells U.S. unit

General Motors Co. sold more cars in China than it did in the United States during the first half of 2010, the first time that has ever happened.

The American automaker sold more than 1.2 million cars in China between January and June, a better-than 50 per cent increase over the same period last year.

In a separate release, GM said Friday it sold 1.07 million cars in the U.S. market during the first two quarters.

The numbers reinforce a shift towards emerging markets being the focus for automakers, as buyers in the developing world buy fewer cars and attempt to squeeze more years and miles out of the ones they already have.

Passenger car sales rose 55 per cent in China during the January-May period to 5.7 million vehicles.

"We are pleased with our continued strong sales, especially the performance of Chevrolet, in a highly competitive market," said Kevin Wale, managing director of GM's China Group.

With 13.6 million vehicles sold last year, China became the world's largest car market in 2009. By contrast, U.S. vehicle sales plunged 21 per cent in 2009 to 10.4 million.

That trend held true at GM itself, as global sales outpaced U.S. sales for the first time ever.

"Having surpassed the one million sales mark for the year, we are well on our way toward record annual sales," Wale said.