«General Motors presence on the Chinese market started in 1920’s, when Buick, one of the brands of the company, sold the limousine passenger cars to the Emperor. Buick became quickly the preferred brand of the affluent people and contributed to establish the footprint of GM in the country.
This presence continued almost uninterrupted even during the period of the Cold War. When China opened to the market economy, General Motors was able to exploit its long-time presence and grew quickly in the market, also forging several joint-ventures for the production of vehicles for the local market. Currently, General Motors is engaged in 11 joint-ventures dedicated to production (6), design and development services (2), sales (3). It also wholly owns 2 companies. China is the most important market of General Motors with more than 3.5 million vehicles sold in 2014 (overall GM sold 9.9 million vehicles in the year). The main issue on the Chinese market is the management of intellectual property rights within the joint-ventures».
