GM plans to auction new cars on eBay

www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-13 09:24:3 BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhuanet) -- General Motors Corp.(GM) plans to experiment with auctioning new cars on eBay, according to media reports Sunday. GM is working on an "innovative new partnership" with eBay Inc. to let consumers in California bid on vehicles as they would in a normal eBay auction, or choose a "Buy it Now" option to purchase the car at a set price, said GM CEO Fritz Henderson. A deal between eBay and GM hasn't been completed yet, and both sides say they have been in discussions. In a statement, eBay Motors vice president Rob Chesney said "at this time, no plans have been finalized with General Motors." GM spokesman John McDonald said the company sees the sales of new cars on eBay as an experiment that builds upon the existing partnership in used vehicles. Certified used vehicles from GM, along with other carmakers, are currently offered for sale on eBay Motors, eBay's online auto marketplace. EBay Motors allows users to buy and sell new and used cars either locally or nationally. The site also offers motorcycles, boats and auto parts and accessories. McDonald also said that some GM dealers already independently list vehicles on eBay, and said this experiment could be a way to bring other GM dealers on board. The announcement comes as GM completed an unusually quick exit from bankruptcy protection on Friday with ambitions of making money and building cars people are eager to buy. Once the world's largest and most powerful automaker, new GM is now leaner, cleansed of massive debt and burdensome contracts that would have sunk it without federal loans. It remains to be seen how any such deal will ultimately play out for the ailing automaker and the online marketplace operator. (Agencies)

Editor: Sun

source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/13/content_11699813.htm

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GM JV sells two millionth Buick in China

Updated: 2009-06-22 15:33

SHANGHAI: Struggling US auto giant General Motors said its joint venture in Shanghai sold its two millionth Buick in China, as sales have rapidly picked up in recent years with the country's economic boom.

"It took eight years for Shanghai GM to sell its first one million Buicks, but only three years to sell its second one million units," said Kevin Wale, President of GM China, in a statement.

"This demonstrates the ongoing popularity of Shanghai GM's leading mainstream brand in what is now Buick's largest market."

The two millionth unit, a red New Regal sedan built by a joint venture with China's largest automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Group, was delivered to its owner in the southern city of Guangzhou, the statement said.

GM's first Shanghai sales office opened in 1929 and Buick customers included Pu Yi, the last emperor and revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen.

Despite its US parent filing for bankruptcy, GM China has seen sales hit new highs on strong demand from the nation's increasingly affluent middle class and incentives to stimulate domestic consumption.

China overtook the United States to become the world's largest car market for the first time in January.

And GM chief executive Fritz Henderson has said GM car sales in China are set to surpass those in the United States this year in a landmark shift.

GM China is still aiming to double sales to more than two million units annually and will "probably need to build another plant in the next five years", Wale said.

GM sales in China jumped 75 percent in May from a year earlier to a record monthly high of 156,000. In the first five months, sales grew 33.8 percent from the same period a year ago to more than 670,000.
www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-06/22/content_8309266.htm


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