General Motors crosses the 100,000 unit sales mark ahead of schedule

Middle East sales in July, August and September - the best three month period ever - were 37,467 units, up 22% over the corresponding period in 2005. Year-to-date sales have passed the milestone 100,000 unit barrier to reach 100,098 units, an increase of 21% over the same period in 2005.

'Chevrolet continues to drive our growth in the Middle East, especially the new generation of our large SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and our offerings in the small car segment the Optra and Aveo,' commented Terry Johnsson, Managing Director of GM Middle East speaking to journalists at a media briefing held in Kuwait. 'All of the new launches we have had this year have been a tremendous success and we have some very important new models yet to come. Things look good for continued growth.'

Year-to-date sales of Chevrolet are up by 27% to 67,146 units over 2005. Sales of the new generation Tahoe and Suburban have both more than doubled this year, with the new models in showrooms for less than 3 months. Sales of the Chevrolet Optra are up 47% year on year to 11,236 units while Aveo sales have increased by 27% over 2005 to 10,549 units.

GM's positive performance is consistent across all its major brands. GM's premium brands have also experienced outstanding sales results. Cadillac, HUMMER and Saab year-to-date sales have grown by 58% to 3,967 units over the same period last year. Sales of the all-new Cadillac Escalade in September 2006 were up 35% over September 2005 across the region while more than 1,800 units of the iconic HUMMER H3 have been sold in 2006.

Long time Middle East favourites, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, have seen sales increase by 6% to 18,282 units, bringing total GMC year-to-date sales to 28,342 units, an increase of 7% over the same period last year.

GM maintained its momentum throughout the third quarter across the whole region. In Saudi Arabia, GM's largest market in the region, year-to-date sales have grown 7% over 2005 to 57,920 representing 58% of GM's total regional sales. Sales in Bahrain have increased 3% to 1,507 units, Kuwait sales have grown at 5% to 12,579 units and the Levant markets (Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) have seen sales increase by 28% to 4,320 despite the recent war in the region.

Sales in Oman have increased 44% to 1,632 units and Qatar sales are up 70% to 3,914 units. Sales in Iraq have more than trebled so far in 2006 with sales in the first nine months totalling 6,339 units.

'Our customers have told us that success in the marketplace depends on a combination of great cars and SUVs, strong brands and overall ownership experience, and that is exactly what GM is doing in the Middle East,' added Johnsson. 'The last quarter of the year will be a very important period for us as we launch some very important new models. Early next month we will introduce an all-new Chevrolet Caprice, Lumina and Epica, three cars with total sales so far in 2006 of 24,500 - 25% of our total sales in the region.'

'We will also be launching a brand new, compact SUV, the Chevrolet Captiva, which will see us compete in a totally new and highly competitive segment of the automotive industry,' he added. 'We also have a few surprises up our sleeve before the end of the year!'