GM Sales Fall Again in China

General Motors Co. reports demand for its vehicles in China dropped 4% to 252,600 units in May, following a tiny decline in April.

The company, which has cut prices as much as 53,900 yuan ($8,700) on some vehicles, blames the downturn on the effect of new-model changeovers and a shift in product mix to more popular SUVs and crossovers. GM's cumulative sales in China for January-May totaled 1.47 million, up 5%.

GM's venture with SAIC and Wuling sold a record 133,100 vehicles in May compared with 129,600 a year earlier. Demand for vehicles made by its Shanghai GM venture fell 8% to 119,200.

Among GM's American brands, Buick sales plunged 13% to 72,600 units last month. Chevrolet deliveries slipped 2% to 50,000. Cadillac's volume surged 11% to a record 6,600 vehicles.

Sales of Baojun and Wuling brand vehicles tripled to 24,100 and fell 12% to 109,000, respectively, in May.