Cadillacs going apeshit.. in China wtf?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbuDRA4zNbw

No idea what’s happening here but holy cow.

Big market over there for caddys, they love them.

Not just for Caddy, basically every single make is in demand.

China Car Sales Rise 63 Percent
By Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
April 09, 2010

SHANGHAI (AP) – China’s passenger car sales jumped 63 percent in March from a year earlier as manufacturers scrambled to meet strong demand driven by tax cuts and government subsidies, a state-affiliated industry group reported Friday.

Passenger car sales rose to 1.26 million vehicles in March, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The figures show sustained growth for automakers in a market that bounced back from a slowdown in late 2008-2009 as the government pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into economic stimulus.

Weak sales in the United States and a surge in car purchases by newly affluent Chinese buyers helped to make this the world’s largest auto market last year, when total vehicle sales jumped 45 percent over 2008 to 13.6 million units.

The U.S. market is recovering but cannot match growth in China, where many are still buying their first cars. Demand for bigger cars is growing as families that bought small cars the first time trade up to better, larger vehicles.

Sales in the U.S. climbed 24 percent in March compared to the same month a year earlier, according to figures compiled by AutoData Corp. China’s auto industry does not release comparable monthly sales data adjusted for annual rates.

The Chinese industry group said total vehicle sales rose 56 percent in March from a year earlier to 1.7 million units, bringing sales for the first three months of the year to 4.6 million.

“Passenger car sales turned out to be even better than earlier market estimates,” said Rao Da, general secretary of another industry group, the Shanghai-based China Passenger Car Association, which released separate data showing similar trends.

“We are confident that China’s vehicle sales will surpass 17 million units this year, growing by about 25 percent,” he said.

China’s searing growth has buoyed foreign automakers like General Motors Co. and Toyoto Motor Corp. as they weather languid sales in their saturated home markets.

GM reported earlier that its sales in China jumped 68 percent in March over a year earlier to a new monthly record of 230,048 vehicles. First quarter sales surged 71 percent to 623,546 units.

Ford Motor Co. said first quarter sales jumped 84 percent to a record 153,362 units.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales in China rose 33 percent in March from a year earlier to 61,200 units, lagging the market and its rivals but still growing despite its massive recall problems in other markets.

China’s domestic automakers, who tend not to release sales data on as regular a basis, are also generally enjoying strong growth, and running double shifts to meet demand.

Production of passenger cars rose 72 percent from a year earlier in March, to 1.3 million units, the CAAM reported. First quarter output rose 84 percent to 3.5 million units.

It said sales of vehicles with engines of 1.6 liters or less totalled 868,300, accounting for 69 percent of total passenger car sales.

Exports of fully assembled vehicles in March jumped 78 percent from the year before to 39,500 units, suggesting a recovery in auto exports, it said.

Chinese automakers slowed production in late 2008 and early 2009 as global economic woes dragged sales sharply lower. By mid-year, car factories were struggling to keep up with reviving demand thanks to government rescue measures and China’s economic recovery.

Associated Press researcher Ji Chen contributed to this report.

GM China Sales May Exceed 3M Units By 2015
By Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
April 12, 2010

SHANGHAI (AP) – General Motors Co. said Monday demand in China is so strong that the company’s annual sales may top 2 million vehicles this year – four years ahead of schedule – and could exceed 3 million by 2015.

GM is counting on robust growth in China, India and other emerging markets to help offset weakness in its home U.S. market as the Detroit automaker struggles to return to health after its near-collapse in 2009.

“We already have an incredible focus on China and we’re going to put as much energy as we can on China,” said Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM China Group.

GM’s China sales jumped 68 percent in March over a year earlier to a monthly record of 230,048 vehicles, propelling a 71 percent surge in first quarter sales to 623,546 units.

In the lackluster U.S. market, GM’s March sales were 188,546 – or 20 percent below China.

China’s total vehicle sales jumped 72 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter of this year to 4.6 million units as the economy rebounded from the global crisis.

While year-on-year growth will likely slow in months ahead, analysts forecast that China’s total auto sales could rise as high as 17 million this year.

Wale says he expects the total to exceed 15 million vehicles this year.

“If we have a strong wind behind us we might get to 16 million units for the industry in China in 2010,” he said.

The company, which reported a $3.4 billion loss in the last quarter of 2009, plans to pay off billions of dollars in loans from the U.S. government by June, five years ahead of schedule, and says it could report a profit as early as this year.

GM does not provide a breakdown of the financial contribution of its sales in China to its overall bottom line.

GM plans to release at least 25 new or revised models in China by the end of next year, he said. That includes the all-electric Chevrolet Volt this year, though many will be updates of vehicles already on the market.

GM released 14 new and upgraded models in China in the past two years, striving to grab market share in many segments amid fierce competitive from both global and local rivals.

GM expects to launch the first made-in-India vehicle from its newly established joint venture with Shanghai-based partner SAIC next year, Wale said. He said the company has a number of projects to help expand output at its factories in China while it considers options for further raising production, though he gave no details.

“It’s just mathematics,” he said. “If we’re going to increase our sales to 2 million, we have to expand capacity.”

Chinese, they love it!

Each manufacturer has a differently established customer perception and level of prestige in different countries due to marketing and the country’s history as well as car’s availability.

Don’t forget that most people, especially in other countries aren’t as well aware to the the aspects of the “big 3” and see most of the car brands “Lincoln” “Cadillac” “GMC” “Chevy” etc as individual car makers.

In some cases a brand of Cadillac can be perceived higher or on par with manufacturers of much higher class.