95,000 Orders for New Opel / Vauxhall Corsa in Western & Central Europe






- GM Europe enjoys full order books for new entries Opel / Vauxhall Corsa and Antara and Chevrolet Captiva
- GM achieves 51 percent YTD sales increase in Eastern Europe
- Opel / Vauxhall implement improvements in quality of sales
- Saab and Chevrolet set all time European sales records


Zurich. General Motors (GM) sold 1,527,275 vehicles in Europe in the first three quarters of 2006, achieving a similarly high number of vehicle sales in the first nine months as last year. GM's share of the European market was at 9.2 percent for the first three quarters and at 9.5 percent for the month of September.

"September was a good month for us and, over the first three quarters, we continue to grow much faster than the industry average with Saab and Chevrolet," said Jonathan Browning, GM Europe's Vice President Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. "For Opel and Vauxhall, the remarkable order intake for Corsa of 95,000 cars is very encouraging, keeping in mind that its start of sale in most countries is only tomorrow and that our 2006 sales objective was 75,000."

From January to September 2006 GM sold 122,350 vehicles in Eastern Europe, which constitutes a sales increase of 41,200 units (+51 percent). With European sales records for Saab and Chevrolet and a strong focus on the profitability of Opel and Vauxhall sales, a net income (after taxes and interest) of $ 212 million (H1 2005: $ -62 million) and a revenue gain of $ 137 million could be achieved in the first half of 2006 (revenue: $ 16,83 billion). Looking ahead, GM Europe enjoys full order books for its new entries Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Antara and Chevrolet Captiva.



Opel enjoys positive market developments in Central and Eastern Europe and together with Vauxhall leads in monocab segment

With Europe-wide registrations totaling 1,203,918 in the first nine months of 2006, Opel / Vauxhall captured a market share of 7.3 percent. Especially in Central and Eastern Europe, Opel achieved substantial year-over-year sales increases for the first three quarters of 2006: Registrations in South-East Europe rose by 8 percent to 52,581 vehicles, in Poland by 9 percent to 19,551 vehicles, in Russia by 73 percent to 12,183 vehicles and in Ukraine by 138 percent to 6,605. In Western Europe, Opel sales increased mostly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg (registrations up by 3,982 units to 90,769), and in Scandinavia (increase of 1,841 to 30,750 registrations). With Zafira and Meriva, Opel / Vauxhall continues to be the leading brand in the monocab segment in both, the January to September period and in the month of September. Compared to the first nine months of 2005, Zafira registrations increased by 45,000 units or 34.1 percent.


Vauxhall

September is the second-largest month for sales in the UK due to a registration number change. Vauxhall's sales held up well in a tough market with registrations of 48,782 and a 10.95 percent market share, especially as the Corsa is on run-out in preparation for the new model's UK launch later this month. Vectra, Zafira and Astra had especially good months with strong sales in both fleet and retail markets.


Saab continues to post strong sales in September

The first nine months of 2006 have resulted in 102,498 Saab cars sold globally which means that Saab is still on track for a "best ever" year.

go to page 2