General Motors's sales in the Middle East rose 26 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared with the year prior, helped by big gains in Iraq, it announced today (WED).
The carmaker sold 123,258 vehicles in the Middle East in 2010, up 5.5 per cent from the previous year, it announced today.
But sales picked up pace in the final quarter, with 38,450 Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC vehicles sold across the region, up 26 per cent from the same period in 2009.
Its fastest growing market last year was Iraq, due to increased political stability in the country, said a GM spokesman.
Sales in Iraq in 2010 rose 52 per cent, year on year. But in the fourth-quarter, GM's sales in Iraq rose by 112 per cent compared to the same period one year earlier.
"It's mainly the stability... in 2007 we started seeing the country becoming more and more stable, and sales have been picking up," said the GM spokesman. "There is a correlation between the two."
Saudi Arabia continued to be GM's biggest regional market, by sales, due in part to its relatively large population. Sales in the Kingdom rose by 7 per cent year on year, and 28 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared to the same timeframe in 2009.
Sales in Kuwait and the UAE, the other two large markets for GM in the Middle East, remained flat compared to 2009, the spokesman said.
Cadillac was GM's fastest growing brand in the Middle East, with sales up 26 per cent year on year. Chevrolet sales were up 9.2 per cent year on year, due in part to new models including the Cruze and Malibu. GMC remained flat over the year.
These results come after a difficult period for General Motors, which went through the second-largest bankruptcy in history. It filed for Chapter 11 in 2009, and later received a nearly US$50 billion government bailout money. Later that year, GM sold off its iconic 4X4 brand Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, a Chinese equipment maker.
GM later emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009. In November this year, it launched a public offering of its stock on the New York Stock Exchange, raising more than $20 billion.
aligaya@thenational.ae
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THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
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The specs
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
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Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
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October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
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The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
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In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.