GM China July Sales Rise 22%, Ford Falls

General Motors’ China revenues grew 22% in July on the strength of Chevy sales. Rival Ford Motor’s local sales fell 6.3%.

GM sold 176,645 vehicles last month as Chevrolet sales jumped 70% to 35,385. For the first seven months of the year, GM-brand vehicles’s China sales rose 45% to 1.3 million units. GM’s first-half China sales surpassed those in the US for the first time this year. This jump could be a major factor in the success of the IPO GM is planning for early in Q4.

“GM has been doing the right things by tapping demand growth in smaller cities with smaller cars,” said Han Weiqi, a CSC International Holdings Ltd analyst in Shanghai. “When overall demand growth slows in the second half, companies deploying the wrong approaches will be hit much harder.”

Ford’s China sales unit, Changan Ford Sales Co, delivered 18,255 vehicles in July. Its sales in July 2009 totaled 19,486. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co makes cars with Ford.

GM has been much more aggressive than Ford in adding new models to its China lineup. Its offerings include the Buick Excelle cars and Chevrolet Cruze compacts made with Chinese joint-venture partner SAIC Motor Co in China. It plans to introduce new models like the Chevrolet Sail compact and Buick Excelle GT small sedan.

The company also makes Sunshine minivans at SAIC-GM-Wuling Automotive Co, a separate joint venture in which the US automaker holds a 34% stake.

China’s total passenger car sales to consumers rose 15.4% last month to 822,300. However, vehicle demand is expected to weaken in August.