General Motors (GM) warns of ongoing challenges in China for 2020.
After posting its biggest-ever sales drop in China during 2019, General Motors Co. warns of a tough 2020.
According to CNBC reporting, GM’s sales in China dropped 15.1% to nearly 3.1 million vehicles last year compared with 2018, including a 13.3% year-over-year fall in the fourth quarter. The sales drop marked the second consecutive year of declines for GM amid a weakening Chinese economy and trade war with the U.S.
“We expect the market downturn to continue in 2020, and anticipate ongoing headwinds in our China business,” said GM China President Matt Tsien through a press release, anticipating the harsh year for GM regarding sales in China. “During the downturn, we are focused on bolstering our product lineup and improving cost efficiency to position our company for strong performance in China over the long term,” he added.
Despite the announcement, GM said it remains on track to introduce at least 10 electrified, also known as new energy, vehicles in China from 2016 to 2020, following the introduction of more than 20 new and refreshed models in 2019.
China is the world’s largest automotive market and surpassed the U.S. as GM’s top-selling market in 2010, CNBC reports. Sales in China have become significantly more important for GM in recent years as it has shed other international operations such as Europe, Russia, India and other countries.
And it is not just GM, the whole industry is facing a downfall, as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reports that vehicle sales may drop 2% to 25.3 million in 2020, which would be a third straight year of declines.
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