American carmaker General Motors (GM) increased its sales in Bahrain by more than half, registering 19 per cent growth in the GCC for the first half of this year.

The company reported sales of 64,659 vehicles, with 12,760 units sold in June.

GM credited its strong performance since 2008 to a new line-up of passenger cars and crossovers.

Sales growth was registered across all of the carmaker's brands.

Chevrolet posted 21pc sales growth, GMC's stood at 16pc, while the luxury brand Cadillac experienced 24pc growth.

Sales of passenger cars grew by 17pc during the first half, with new models Chevrolet Spark, Sonic, Cruze and Malibu registering doubled sales over the same period.

The company's new line-up helped strengthen its performance, with the newly launched eighth generation Malibu posting its highest sales last month.

All GCC markets registered growth, with the company's largest market Saudi Arabia growing by 23pc in the first half.

Sales growth for Bahrain was the highest in the region, at 55pc.

"The first six months of 2012 have produced very strong sales for General Motors in the region," said the company's president and managing director Middle East John Stadwick.

"The recent introduction of Chevrolet Spark, Sonic and Malibu, Cadillac SRX, and GMC Terrain have had a major impact on sales and won over new customers to our brands.

"With the upcoming launches of Chevrolet Colorado, Trailblazer and Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac XTS and ATS scheduled over the next six months, we expect stronger performance for the second half of the year," he added.