Automaker General Motors Corp. (GM) Tuesday stated that Chevrolet's U.S. sales rose 16% in 2010 on rising customer demand for better fuel efficiency. The company also reported an upside in the brand's share of the global vehicle industry sales.
In 2010, Chevy sold about 1.57 million vehicles in the U.S., with a market share gain of 0.7 points across the brand's full line of cars, trucks, and crossovers.
The company has sold 4.26 million vehicles globally in 2010, with sales of over 1.14 million vehicles in the fourth quarter. It said Chevy's share of the global vehicle industry sales were up by 0.35 points, accounting for about 5.8% of all vehicles sold worldwide in 2010.
BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - were the major contributors to Chevy's strong sales performance, delivering about 33% of the brand's sales.
In addition to the BRIC countries, emerging markets such as Uzbekistan, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia were included in the brand's top 10-selling countries in 2010. With the U.S. and Canada, these 10 countries accounted for 85% of all Chevrolet sales.
In Europe, Chevrolet sold more than 477,000 vehicles in 2010, an improvement of 12% over 2009. Market share increased in 21 European countries.
In the U.S., sales of Chevrolet Equinox increased 74% in 2010. While Chevrolet Traverse sales rose 17%, Chevrolet Malibu sales were up 23%. Chevrolet Camaro was the best-selling sports car in the U.S. in 2010, accounting for almost one third of the segment. In addition, sales of Chevrolet crossover was up 34% in 2010, the company noted.
Further, GM said that Chevrolet's sales momentum is expected to continue in 2011, with the first full-year of sales for the Cruze and Volt, as well as the introduction of the Chevrolet Sonic, which will go on sale in the fall of 2011.
GM closed Friday's trading at $38.20, down $0.07 or 0.18%, on a volume of 5.9 million shares.
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