GM April China sales down 4.6 percent y/y

HONG KONG/BEIJING May 5 (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) sold 203,367 units in China in April, down 4.6 percent from a year earlier, it said in Thursday, after the government scrapped some tax incentives in the world's largest auto market this year.

Sales in China for the U.S. automaker in the first four months came to 888,950 vehicles, an increase of 6.3 percent from the same period last year, it said in a statement.

Sales of Shanghai GM, its car venture with top Chinese automaker SAIC Motor (600104.SS), rose by an annual 7.4 percent to 96,219 in April, while GM-SAIC-Wuling reported a tally of 100,262 units, with no comparison given.

The data comes hours after Warren Buffett-backed Chinese car maker BYD Co Ltd (1211.HK) reported an annual drop of 11 percent in April sales to 40,100 units. [ID:nL3E7G50E6]

China's decision to scrap tax incentives on small cars at the start of 2011 affected sales in that segment, with analysts forecasting subdued growth in the domestic car market this year after sales surged by a third to a record high in 2010.

GM posted stronger-than-expected group quarterly profit, driven by a recovery in the U.S. market and strong sales in Asia. [ID:nN05238594]

(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee and Fang Yan; Editing by David Cowell)