General Motors India on Monday said its car sales soared by 112.6 per cent in August on good demand of the new premium mid-size model Chevrolet Optra.

The company sold 1,701 cars during the month against 800 units a year ago, a GMI spokesman told PTI in New Delhi.

The August sales were, however, 12 per cent less as compared to 1,935 cars sold in July.

Sales of Optra, which was launched in early July, stood at 870 units while that of the German-engineered Opel Corsa range of models accounted for 816 units, the spokesman said.

The company also sells the premium mid-size car Opel Astra, luxury sedan Opel Vectra and sports-utility-vehicle Chevrolet Forester.

For the January-August 2003 period, sales jumped by 42 per cent to 8,986 cars from 6,330 units a year earlier, he said.

GMI has started the second shift of production at its plant at Halol (Gujarat) due to popular response to recently-launched hatchback car Corsa Sail and the 1.8 litre Chevrolet Optra model.

A wholly owned subsidiary of the world's biggest automaker, General Motors Corp, the company has targeted to double its car sales to about 18,000 units this year.