Record General Motors sales in United Arab Emirates in 2006

This growth has been fuelled by a succession of new car and SUV launches throughout 2006.

A best ever month of sales in the Middle East in December - GM's 38th consecutive month of record sales - took total annual sales to 140,509, an increase of 24% over 2005. This means that GM's sales in the region have almost tripled in the last three years.

'Our continued success is driven by the growing popularity of all our brands, but especially by Chevrolet,' commented Terry Johnsson, Managing Director of GM Middle East.

'We launched 17 new models or new generations of existing models in 2006 and these have been very well received by customers throughout the Middle East.'

Chevrolet is the main driver of the GM growth in the UAE. In 2006 sales of Chevrolet in the UAE were up by 65% to 12,423. At the same time, the premium brands, Cadillac and HUMMER, saw sales grow by 229% to 1,465, while GMC recorded a 9% increase to 1,895.

GM's success in UAE is mirrored throughout the Middle East, with the auto maker enjoying tremendous growth across almost all regional markets. Sales in Kuwait, another key market for GM, grew by 5% to 18,289, while sales in Saudi Arabia were up 17% to 83,710.

GM also enjoyed growth in the remaining Gulf markets of Qatar (up 46% to 5,254), Oman (up 43% to 2,320) and Bahrain (up 19% to 2,303). In the Levant markets (Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) sales grew by 11% to 5,482. Iraq sales were up 189% to 7,065.

The Chevrolet Caprice continues to be the top selling model in the region, increasing in volume by 10% to 18,163. The Caprice was closely followed by the Chevrolet Optra and the Chevrolet Aveo with sales increases of 37% to 14,880 and 26% to 14,669 respectively over sales in 2005. A new generation of the Chevrolet Caprice, which enjoys an unrivalled history in the region, has just arrived in the Middle East and this year's growth highlights its continued popularity.

With increased vehicle sales comes growth in other areas of the business, particularly aftersales. There are currently 31 new GM dealer facilities underway in the region at an investment of US$113 million. US$600 million is to be spent on dealer facilities between 2006 and 2008. In addition, General Motors has opened almost 50 GM quickservice and ACDelco Service Centres in the Middle East with another 20 in the pipeline.

The expansion of GM's US$73 million Middle East Parts Distribution Centre in Dubai, which was completed in 2006, means faster delivery of parts to dealers. This in turn allows dealers to provide faster repairs to customers, which is critical to achieving customer satisfaction.

'We will continue to invest heavily in delivering a fantastic ownership experience,' added Johnsson. 'We have another 12 models to be introduced in 2007 geared towards covering all segments of the market and to putting a new generation of drivers behind the wheel of a GM car or SUV.'

GM brand highlights - 2006 Results
Chevrolet sales up 30% to 98,042
Cadillac, HUMMER and Saab sales up 56% to 5,966
GMC sales up 7% to 35,673

GM market highlights - 2006 Results:
Saudi Arabia sales up 17% to 83,710
Bahrain sales up 19% to 2,303
Kuwait sales up 5% to 18,289
Levant (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon) sales up 11% to 5,482
United Arab Emirates sales up 61% to 15,855
Oman sales up 43% to 2,320
Qatar sales up 46% to 5,254
Iraq sales up 189% to 7,065

GM Middle East corporate highlights - 2006 Results:
GM Technical Training Program - joint training initiative with the General Organisation for Technical and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) - officially opened in Riyadh and Jeddah
Middle East Distribution Centre - US$73 million expansion completed