Slower growth has spurred the US carmaker to up its game in the vital Chinese market
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Tough times for Shanghai GM dealers Image: Shanghai GM |
General Motors, in collaboration with its Chinese joint venture partner SAIC, has cut prices on some of its popular models to compete with rival VW, which also started a round of discounts this year.
Shanghai GM will make cuts of up to 53,900 yuan ($8,700) on 40 models across Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet brands. The latter two reported a drop in deliveries of 8.5% and 5.6%, respectively, last month.
The US carmaker is also using incentives, such as subsidised insurance, interest-free financing, train subsidies and zero down-payments to persuade consumers to purchase.
Despite slower growth and lower margins, GM CEO Mary Barra has pledged to invest $16bn in the region in order to capture a 10% market share. The investments will largely be used to develop 10 new energy-saving models in order to attract increasingly environmentally conscious consumers.