GM February sales in China grow 1.3 percent

Auto sales of General Motors Co. ( GM) and its joint ventures in China reached record 261,072 units in February, up 1.3 percent year on year.

Buick brand sales fell 0.1 percent on an annual to 59,088 units in February; Chevrolet sales climbed 2.5 percent to 47,521 units; Cadillac sales hit a record of 5,959, up 36.1 percent; and Baojun sales rose 391.6 percent to 27,542 units, the Detroit-based automaker said in a statement.

In February, Shanghai GM's domestic sales were up 2.4 percent year on year to 112,568 units and SAIC-GM-Wuling's sales were up 3. 9 percent, it said.

Wuling brand sales dropped 11.9 percent to 120,685 units, and GM attributed it to the shift of the market demand from mini- commercial vehicles to passenger vehicles in China, according to the statement.

GM has 11 joint ventures, two wholly owned foreign enterprises and more than 58,00 employees in China.

GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens expected China's auto industry to grow between 5 percent and 8 percent this year. In response, the U.S. automaker and its joint ventures planned to invest 14 billion U.S. dollars in China through 2018 to newly construct five assembly and two powertrain plants.