Appetite for Cadillac boosts GM prospects

A father and son view a Cadillac ATS sedan at the Washington auto show. [Photo / Agencies]

General Motors Co is firing on all cylinders, selling 10 million cars in a year for the first time, and riding a big gain in China with record sales for Cadillac.

The fourth-quarter and 2016 calendar-year results showed equity income in China of $500 million for the quarter and $2 billion for the year.

GM sold 3.04 million vehicles in the United States in 2016. The record sales last year lifted GM to a record operating profit of $12.5 billion, up 16 percent.

In China, GM's largest market, deliveries increased 7.1 percent to a record 3.87 million vehicles.

Chinese consumers are also showing some fancy tastes: Cadillac sales in China rose 46 percent in 2016 to 116,406－the first time it has passed 100,000 in China in a single year－lifting global brand sales 11 percent to a 30-year high.

"The ATS (compact luxury sedan) product line has been our best-selling vehicle in China," David Caldwell, Cadillac's product communications manager, told China Daily. "That was the case for the 2016 calendar year. It will likely be surpassed by the new XT5 crossover－for instance last month, XT5 was highest-volume seller."

Prices for the XT5 in China, according to Cadillac's Chinese website, range from $52,294 to $78,448.

Last month, Cadillac sales in China increased 116 percent, while in the US, they were up 1.2 percent.

"Cadillac begins 2017 with a continuation of the robust global growth of 2016, a year in which we sold more products worldwide than any point in the past three decades," Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen said.

"We are growing the business significantly and attracting a youthful and affluent demographic, elevating the aspirational character of the brand. This is particularly the case in China, where our growth is explosive and sustained."

GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said the company is benefiting from strong sales of higher-priced trucks and crossover sport-utility vehicles, The Associated Press reported, which is right up Cadillac's alley.

"We are allocating more capital to growth and profit pools where we think we can earn a long-term return," he said.

Sales of cars in the US are stalling as buyers shift to SUVs, a plus for GM. Car sales were only 37 percent of the market in January, but made up almost 50 percent two years ago, AP reported.