GM, FAW venture won't compete with Wuling, executives say

Executives from General Motors said Monday that its light commercial vehicle joint venture with FAW Group would not compete directly with its flagship China venture, SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co.

Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM's China operations, said that the venture is an important complement to the rest of GM's portfolio and would give it a presence in the truck segment.

"Products made by the two ventures will not compete with each other as the FAW GM venture will mainly produce make light-duty trucks and vans while SAIC GM Wuling will continue to focus on minivans," a FAW GM executive said.

GM has agreed to set up a 50-50 LCV joint venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

GM is making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac models at its Shanghai-based venture with SAIC Motor Corp. It also makes minivans, pickup trucks and the Spark compact car in a three-way tie-up with SAIC and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile.

SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 87,925 vehicles in July, up 90.7 percent from a year earlier, helped by Beijing's stimulus initiatives to support the industry, including subsidies for buyers in rural areas.