Shanghai General Motors Co reported yesterday that March sales accelerated 89 percent annually to 86,967 units.

The flagship venture of GM Corp in China said first-quarter sales doubled from a year earlier to 235,000 units.

The strong sales performance of Shanghai GM was driven by new products added to the line-up including new Buick Excelle XT Yinglang as well as continued high demand for Buick Regal mid-to-high class sedan and Buick Cruze mid-class sedan.

Sales of Buick brand improved by 47 percent to 47,533 units last month while sales of Chevrolet vehicles hit 38,011 units.

About 1,413 Cadillac cars were sold during the same period, up 171 percent from the same period of last year.