General Motors Company GM and its joint ventures concluded 2024 with impressive momentum in China, achieving a 40.6% quarter-over-quarter increase in fourth-quarter deliveries, totaling nearly 600,000 vehicles. This represents the company’s strongest sequential growth since the second quarter of 2022. For the full year, GM delivered more than 1.8 million vehicles in the Chinese market compared with 2.1 million units in 2023.
China remains a crucial market for GM, ranking second only to its U.S. operations. The automaker partners with SAIC Motor Corp. in a 50-50 joint venture in China called Shanghai General Motors (“SGM”), which manufactures and sells Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac vehicles. The joint ventures demonstrated strong performance in the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector. The NEV deliveries, comprising battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), rose 50% year over year in 2024 and accounted for nearly half of GM China’s annual sales.
In terms of product highlights, the Buick GL8 series maintained its position as the leader in China’s premium MPV market. As of September 2024, it became the first MPV series in China to surpass two million units in cumulative production and sales. Since its launch in the second quarter of 2024, the PHEV model has recorded more than 23,000 deliveries. The newly launched Cadillac XT5, introduced in September 2024, saw nearly 15,000 units delivered in the fourth quarter, marking a successful debut. Meanwhile, the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV family remained dominant in the micro EV segment, selling more than 100,000 units in the fourth quarter and surpassing 260,000 units for the year.
GM’s premium import platform, The Durant Guild, launched the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon in China in 2024, with deliveries scheduled to begin in March 2025. Currently operating seven brand experience centers across major cities, the platform plans to open seven additional centers in 2025 to strengthen its foothold in the luxury import market.
Having said that, GM faced struggles in the China market last year. In the third quarter of 2024, GM’s deliveries in China saw a significant year-over-year decline, dropping the company’s market share below 9% for the first time in over 20 years. GM’s China operations have faced challenges, including rising competition from domestic brands, regulatory shifts and increasing demand for EVs.
To address these challenges, GM is restructuring its operations in China to cut costs, refine its vehicle lineup and better meet consumer preferences. The company is writing down the value of its SGM joint venture by $2.6-$2.9 billion and incurring an additional $2.7 billion in restructuring charges, including plant closures and portfolio adjustments. While these expenses will impact GM’s fourth-quarter profits, the automaker expects its China operations to show year-over-year growth beginning in 2025.
General Motors currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the auto space are Suzuki Motor Corporation SZKMY, Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYY and Blue Bird Corporation BLBD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SZKMY’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 2.38% and 33.77%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved 43 cents and 46 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 66.62% and 149.31%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved by 15 cents and 38 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLBD’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 10.97% and 12.14%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 have improved 18 cents in the past 60 days.
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