BEIJING: General Motors Co's (GM) vehicle sales in China grew 12pc over July-September versus the same period a year earlier, the Detroit automaker's first Chinese quarterly sales growth in two years.

The second-biggest foreign automaker in China by units - after Germany's Volkswagen AG - said on Monday it delivered 771,400 vehicles in China in the third quarter.

That followed a second-quarter fall of 5pc.

GM has a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp Ltd making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles.

It has another venture, SGMW, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, producing no-frills mini-vans and which has started manufacturing higher-end cars.

China sales of mass-market brand Buick rose 26pc in the third quarter, GM said in a statement.

Sales of its mass-market Chevrolet marque fell 20pc whereas those of premium brand Cadillac jumped 28pc.

Sales of no-frills brand Wuling grew 26pc, whereas those of mass-market Baojun vehicles tumbled 19pc.