GM, Eclipsed at Home, Soars to Top in China

As General Motors fights for market share in America, its vehicles are selling briskly in China.

By DAVID BARBOZA and NICK BUNKLEY
Published: July 21, 2010

SHANGHAI — A decade ago, this city had five car dealerships selling Buicks, the top-selling General Motors brand in China. Today it has 27.

And the crowds of shoppers that fill many of them are young, ready to pay cash and not inclined to haggle over the sticker price.

As G.M. prepares a public stock offering later this year, China is emerging as a crucial piece of its appeal to potential investors — and a surprising down payment of sorts for American taxpayers, who would begin shrinking their 61 percent equity stake in the company.

In the first half of this year, G.M.’s China sales rose 48.5 percent over the same period last year, and for the first time ever, the automaker sold more vehicles in China than in the United States. Just 13 years after entering China, G.M. now says the country accounts for a quarter of its global sales — blistering growth that even G.M. did not expect this soon.