ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- General Motors Corp. says sales of its Opel and Vauxhall cars plunged 10.5 percent last year.
GM also said Friday Saab sales were down 21.9 percent, as the global economic crisis deepened.
Still, the company says it is not disappointed because it had braced for the worst.
GM Europe, a unit of the Detroit-based corporation, says the German-made Opel and its British sister brand sold a total of 1,458,769 cars last year. Sales of the two brands were down 16.1 percent to 104,047 vehicles in December.
GM's Chevrolet brand countered the trend, rising 10.7 percent for the year and for the first time surpassing a half-million cars. But Chevy also suffered during the December slump, with European sales off 3.9 percent.