UPDATE 1-GM says H1 China vehicle sales up 38 pct yr/yr

* H1 China sales up 38 pct at record 814,442 vehicles

* Commercial vehicle venture's H1 sales up 50 percent

* Govt incentives boost overall market (Adds details)

SHANGHAI, July 1 (Reuters) - General Motors GMGMQ.PK said on Wednesday its China vehicles sales rose 38 percent in the first half of 2009 from a year earlier as China's stimulus policies boosted automobile demand.

GM sold 814,442 vehicles in China in the January-June period, an all-time first-half record, it said in a statement.

It gave no figures for the month of June, after reporting a 75 percent rise in May sales and 50 percent growth in April.

"China's vehicle market continued to outpace most expectations," said Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM's China operations.

The Detroit automaker, hit badly by a steep global industry downturn, filed for bankruptcy in June with a U.S. federal court.

But it has posted strong sales growth this year in China, its second-largest market, fuelled by brisk sales of locally manufactured minivans and pickup trucks as Beijing offers tax incentives and subsidies to bolster its nascent auto industry and support the slowing economy.

SAIC-GM-Wuling, its commercial vehicle tie-up with China's top automaker SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS), sold 524,598 vehicles in the first six months of the year, up 49.9 percent from a year earlier, the statement said.

Shanghai GM, its flagship car venture with SAIC, sold 288,843 vehicles during the period, it said. It gave no comparative figures, although data from China's official industry association indicated that would represent a 25 percent year-on-year increase. (Reporting by Fang Yan and Edmund Klamann)