General Motors (GM) announced on Tuesday their car sales and business results for 2008. Figures released show that GM sales in the region have increased by 6 percent over 2007, in spite of a market slowdown in the fourth quarter due to the global economic crisis. GMC in particular was a strong performer for GM with the Acadia up 96 percent, the Yukon up 26 percent and Sierra up 13 percent. The award-winning Cadillac CTS sedan also made its mark. Registering a 30 percent increase in sales over 2007, GM's best-selling models across the Middle East continue to be its full-size SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade. At the opposite end of the size spectrum, and reinforcing GM's reputation for offering great value cars for every type of customer, the fuel-efficient Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Optra models occupy second and third place in the sales chart in terms of their sales increase over 2007. Much of GM's 2008 growth has been built on expansion in the Lower Gulf and the region's smaller markets. This continues to be the case in 2008, with Lebanon the star performer, up 81 percent, followed by Iraq (+68 percent) and Oman (+27 percent). UAE and Syria recorded double-digit increases of 19 percent and 10 percent respectively. GM's biggest market, Saudi Arabia also experienced rising sales of 2 percent. Announcing the results, Mike Devereux, president of General Motors Middle East, said: “We are delighted to have recorded positive growth in the Middle East in 2008 and another record number of vehicles sold. In the first ten months of 2008, we were on track to record an increase of 13 percent, prior to the effects of the financial crisis. At the same time, we must acknowledge the commitment and effort of our esteemed dealers, who continually strive to offer our customers a fantastic experience, that matches the best vehicles the market has to offer.” ACDelco saw a growth of over 25 percent in the region, primarily driven by sale of its Kingdom-made batteries with sales in excess of 2.5M units and an estimated market share of 44 percent ACDelco Middle East is the largest market for General Motors outside of the US. Chevrolet's crossover Traverse, small Cruze, mid-size Malibu and Camaro, together with Cadillac's Escalade Platinum Edition and CTS-V, along with the GMC Sierra Denali and Hummer H3T complete the line up of new models.
