General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and its joint ventures in China sold a record number of vehicles last month as demand jumped more than 20 percent from the year-earlier level.

The Detroit-based carmaker said it sold 231,183 vehicles in May on a 21.3 percent rise in demand. Demand was up 1.7 percent from the previous month's level.

Shanghai GM's domestic sales rose 7.1 percent from May 2011 to 99,113 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 127,749 vehicles in China, an increase of 35.9 percent year-on-year. FAW-GM sold 3,756 vehicles in the domestic market last month, down 0.7 percent from last May. Buick sales totaled 51,360 units in May, down 1.2 percent from the same month last year. Sales of its original Excelle family grew 19 percent year-on-year to 23,085 units. Sales of the Excelle XT and GT were also strong, totaling 11,985 units.

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