GM sales won't budge in China despite price cuts

General Motors sales in China were flat in June from a year earlier despite cutting prices by up to 20% as growth in the world's hottest car market continues to cool.

Sales totaled 246,066 in June, up 0.4% from June 2014.

"SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles are growing fast, but that growth was offset by the segment shift -- sales slowing in the sedan and mini-commercial vehicle market," GM spokeswoman Irene Shen said.

Through the first half of 2015, GM sales in China, where it sells more vehicles than in the U.S., totaled 1.72 million, up 4.4% from the same period in 2014.

The company's joint venture with SAIC Motor announced price cuts in May of as much as $8,685.

"An evolving product mix is essential for meeting the diverse demand in China," GM China President Matt Tsien said in a statement. "We will continue to add more new and refreshed models in the second half to keep up our growth momentum."

Buick sold 436,226 vehicles in the first half, up 4.3% from a year earlier. The brand was led by the Excelle, a four-door sedan, which sold 107,799 units. Demand for Buick's trio of SUVs (Envision, Enclave and Encore) more than doubled to 96,433 units.

Cadillac posted sales of 14,158 for its ATS and ATS-L. Deliveries of the XTS and the SRX topped 12,000 units each.

Chevrolet sales rose 0.6% to 317,408 for the first half. Sales of the Cruze, the brand's most popular model in China, set a first half record of 124,898 units. The Trax urban SUV sold a record 27,967 units.