In a recent article by CNN Money, it was pointed out that GM cars, specifically Buick vehicles, are selling like hot cakes still overseas, throughout Asia…mostly in China. This isn’t news to anyone who follows GM with a close eye – Buick has been GM’s Asian brand for years. Only about a quarter of GM’s vehicle sales worldwide were made in the U.S. during the first part of 2009. Where GM is losing money hand over fist on US soil, the company actually made a profit in China, the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America.

Experts believe it’s important that GM keeps overseas operations linked with North American units as it goes through restructuring . GM is hopeful their current efforts will also leave them as competitive at home as it has been abroad. “Their success overseas demonstrates that they have the capability of succeeding here,” said Tom Libby, president of the Society of Automotive Analysts. “The stuff they’re being forced to do now, it’s stuff that should have been done a long time ago.”

The hybrid systems is the same used in U. S. Malibu and Saturn Aura hybrid vehicles. The LaCrosse hybrid achieves fuel efficiency 15% better than the non-hybrid LaCrosse available in China and with 15% lower emissions. No official price has been released for the Chinese hybrids, but expect it to be more than the conventional model.

Buick is not alone in the GM-China alternative fuel market. Cadillac’s Escalade will be available in hybrid next year. China will also be one of the first major markets to sell the Chevrolet Volt, some time in 2010. Cadillac’s Provoq will also hit China, which seems to be Caddy’s equivalent to the Volt. GM execs hope to turn China into a massive green vehicle market. As for the North American market – sadly, GM does not expect to release a hybrid LaCrosse in the states.