US car maker reports 24% rise

General Motors dealerships in the Middle East reported total sales of 12,849 vehicles in August, a 24 percent increase compared to the same month last year.The sales result represented GM Middle East's highest August sales month ever, the US-based car maker said in a statement. It said demand was continuing to grow for the company's line-up of passenger cars, crossovers, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickups across the Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac brands. August represented GM Middle East's 11th consecutive month of double-digit total sales growth and contributed to year-to-date total sales growth of 23 percent for the first eight months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Total sales of Chevrolet in August rose by 24 percent  while sales of GMC saw a 27 percent increase.Cadillac's August sales grew by 45 percent and represented the second best sales month for the luxury brand in the past 32 months.The biggest gain in sales was achieved by GM's crossover vehicles, which increased by 45 percent in August, the statement said. This growth was propelled by strong sales of the Chevrolet Traverse, the Cadillac SRX and the newly launched Chevrolet Captiva and GMC Terrain, it added. Over the same period, sales of passenger cars increased by nine percent and sales of SUVs were up 32 percent, while pickups experienced 26 percent sales growth. Retail sales, those to individual customers, rose 43 percent in August driven by high levels of showroom traffic during the holy month of Ramadan.Year-to-date retail sales increased by 50 percent for the first eight months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. "The launch of new vehicles and our marketing efforts helped boost showroom traffic during the holy month of Ramadan, which was reflected in our best ever retail sales month in August," said John Stadwick, president and managing director of GM Middle East Operations. From / Arabian Business News