General Motors Middle East has reported sales of 12,849 vehicles last month, marking a 24 per cent increase versus a year ago as well as its highest August sales ever in the region.

Total sales of Chevrolet in August rose by 24 per cent year-over-year, while sales of GMC experienced a 27 per cent increase. Meanwhile Cadillac’s August sales grew by 45 per cent 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 per cent in August. This growth was propelled by strong sales of the Chevrolet Traverse, the Cadillac SRX and the newly launched Chevrolet Captiva and GMC Terrain.

Over the same period sales of passenger cars increased by 9 per cent and sales of SUVs were up 32 per cent, while pickups experienced 26 per cent sales growth.

Retail sales, those to individual customers, rose 43 per cent in August driven by high levels of showroom traffic during the holy month of Ramadan. Year-to-date retail sales increased by 50 per cent 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.

“Our focus on raising the customer shopping, buying and ownership experience, combined with investment in new showroom and service facilities is drawing more customers into our showrooms and growing demand for our vehicles across the region.”

August represented GM Middle East’s eleventh consecutive month of double-digit total sales growth and contributed to year-to-date total sales growth of 23 per cent for the first eight months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

Total sales of GM passenger cars grew by 9 per cent during August, driven by strong sales of the Chevrolet Malibu (up 49 per cent) and the Cadillac CTS (up 43 per cent).

Across Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, total sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) increased by 32 per cent in August. The Cadillac Escalade (up 54 per cent) and the Chevrolet Tahoe (up 40 per cent) were the best performing SUV nameplates during the month.

Crossover sales across Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac were up 45 per cent in August led by strong sales of the Chevrolet Traverse (up 71 per cent), the Cadillac SRX (up 39 per cent) and the newly launched Chevrolet Captiva and GMC Terrain crossover vehicles.

Total sales of the Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and Colorado, and the GMC Sierra, increased by 26 per cent during August due to a strong performance by Silverado, which grew sales by 134 per cent during the month. – TradeArabia News Service