US car maker sees 11% rise in MidEast sales in Oct

General Motors dealers in the Middle East reported total sales of 11,545 vehicles in October, an 11 percent increase compared to the year earlier period. The US car manufacturer said on Wednesday the sales figure was the result of continued robust sales throughout the region for the company's line-up of vehicles across the Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac brands. Total sales of Chevrolet in October rose by 15 percent year-on-year, while Cadillac saw a 10 percent rise. Sales of GMC remained flat during the month, the company said in a statement. October represented GM Middle East's 13th consecutive month of double-digit total sales growth and contributed to year-to-date total sales growth of 21 percent for the first 10 months of 2011. The biggest gain in sales was achieved by GM's recently launched vehicles - including the Chevrolet Cruze, Cadillac SRX and GMC Terrain - which increased by 49 percent in October compared to the same month in 2010. "We are in the midst of a product renaissance with new world-class vehicles competing in just about every segment. The Chevrolet Sonic, which was only introduced to showrooms last month, exceeded our sales target during October," said John Stadwick, president and managing director of GM Middle East Operations. "I am confident that the new vehicles we revealed last week at the Dubai International Motor Show - the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Malibu and Colorado - will be equally popular with customers here in the Middle East when they are introduced in showrooms next year." Retail sales, those to individual customers, rose 55 percent in October driven by high showroom traffic in the run up to Eid-al-Adha. Year-to-date retail sales increased by 50 percent for the first 10 months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.