Global automakers target luxury segment in China

The Cadillac CTS made by General Motors on display at an auto exposition in Shanghai. The company will soon launch a new full-sized sedan in China. [Yan Daming / For China Daily]

US brands launch new products to compete against Europe, Japan peers

China is the new El Dorado for US automakers looking to develop sales of their luxury brands, which globally are lagging behind German and Japanese competitors.

General Motors, the largest US automaker, already sells more cars in China each month than it does in its home market and expects that to continue.

"Our joint ventures in China are working to boost production capacity by 30 percent to more than five million units annually by 2015," GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra told the firm's annual shareholders meeting.

GM launched a Chinese-produced luxury sedan, the XTS, last year and is steadily adding more vehicles to its Cadillac range.

"Cadillac is already a very profitable business for us and GM expects to see substantial growth for its luxury brand over the next few years, particularly in China where young consumers are open to new brands," said Dan Ammann, president of GM.

The US firm a few months ago poached Johan De Nysschen, the former executive of Nissan's luxury Audi and Infiniti brands, to head the Cadillac brand.

The nameplate, part of GM since 1909, traces its roots to the French founder of Detroit - today the heart of the US auto industry - Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac.

China will become a "volume hub" for the Cadillac brands, De Nysschen said recently.

China, the world's largest auto market, accounts for about 25 percent of global luxury car sales and its share is only growing. German automakers including Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen hold about 80 percent of the "premium" market.

Cadillac will soon launch in China a new full-sized sedan for owners who use a chauffeur and a smaller sports utility vehicle, burnishing the brand's reputation for building distinctive vehicles, he said.