General Motors Company (GM) is highly elated to see the record sales of its Chevrolet Cruze small cars in the U.S. The unit sales figure is soon to cross the 50,000 level in the U.S. despite tough competition from imported cars.

Cruze was first launched in late 2009, although it hit the U.S. market in September 2010 replacing the already existing Cobalt model. Since its arrival in the U.S., as many as 32,000 Cruze models have already been sold through February. And with the March figure, total sales in the U.S. will certainly cross the 50,000 bar. However, it is believed that March sales of Cruze would be below February’s 18,556 units.

According to the company, the Chevrolet brand has played a crucial role in generating demand in the U.S. market in the face of intense competition from other popular imported brands. Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd (HMC) have substantial market shares in the country’s auto industry.

Toyota’s popular Corolla recorded sales of 35,000 units in the comparable period through February whereas Honda’s Civic reached almost 34,000 in the corresponding period.

Inspired by the strong results, GM now expects to sell about 150,000 Cruzes globally in the first quarter of 2011, thereby emerging as the top selling model by surpassing the Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

Demand for vehicles has been improving with the revival of economic conditions. Carmakers want to make best use of this growing demand and reap substantial benefits as well as expand its market share. General Motors’ decision to add new models to its existing product portfolio is a well calculated move towards this end.

 
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