GM Sales Soar 13% in China

General Motors Co. sold a record 249,700 vehicles in China last month compared with 221,600 in July 2013. Results pushed GM's year-to-date total up 11% to nearly 2 million.

Sales by the company's Shanghai GM venture climbed 7% to 120,700 units in July. Volume for SAIC-GM-Wuling jumped 20% to 125,900. Demand for FAW-GM commercial vehicles fell 4% to 3,100.

Sales of Wuling-brand minivans, which account for half of GM's volume, soared 25% last month. Demand for the company's Buick and Chevrolet brands rose 1% and 11%, respectively. Sales of Cadillac luxury cars surged 58%.

GM intends to debut at least 60 new or redesigned vehicles in China by the end of 2018. The company is spending about $11 billion to hike the production capacity of its Chinese ventures two-thirds by 2020.