Summary: Sales of US brand passenger automobiles in China from 2002 to 2012

According to statistics collected by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), sales of American brand passenger automobiles manufactured in China have constantly grown in the ten years since China has joined the World Trade Organization. In 2002, yearly sales of US brand vehicles totaled just 115,180 units, a fraction of the over 1.77 million sales made last year.

In general, sales growth rates for American passenger automobiles have been higher than average market rates, only falling below them in 2007 and 2008. US car sales increased 18.11 percent last year, growing well above the market average.

Ever since China joined the WTO, foreign automobile manufacturers began to pour into the country, tapping into high consumer demand for new cars. US manufacturers were among the strongest performing, with their share in the domestic passenger automobile market growing from under ten percent in 2002 to 13.45 percent last year.

The Shanghai General Motors joint venture is one of the best examples of the successes US manufacturers have made in the Chinese market. The JV was the best performing passenger automobile maker from 2005 to 2007. However, the US financial crisis and lack of innovative new models led to a fall in the JV's sales in 2008, when it was surpassed by FAW-VW and Shanghai VW.

US brand automobile sales began to recover the following year, bolstered by effective marketing strategies which saw the introduction of several new models to China. Thanks to several new models such as the New Regal, New LaCrosse, Cruze and New Sail, Shanghai GM's sales increased 59.21 percent in 2009 and 42.97 percent in 2010, around ten percent more than the market average. They have remained strong ever since, gaining an additional boost last year due to a consumer backlash against Japanese brands vehicles. The debut of the New Focus last year also helped bring in large number of consumers, proving that Shanghai GM is not the only US joint venture that can perform well in China.