General Motors has been hard at work trying to rejuvenate Cadillac, the automaker's luxury brand that was once a top contender but has since fallen out of favor.
China is the next target in GM's sights as the company plans to invest a cool $14 billion into the world's biggest car market in the next four years to launch five new factories, Automotive News reported.
By 2020, Cadillac plans to have launched nine new models in China. Shanghai General Motors Co., the joint venture from GM and SAIC Motor Corp., is building a plant in Shanghai specifically for Cadillac production that will produce some 160,000 vehicles a year.
China could even become Cadillac's bestselling market if it passes the U.S. Cadillac currently holds less than 4 percent of the country's luxury market, but the brand is aiming for 10 percent in the next six years or so.
"There's the potential by 2020, we could be the largest market worldwide," GM China President Matt Tsien told AN in an interview earlier this month at the Global Automotive Forum. "We're poised to grow at a very rapid pace."
Cadillac sold 182,543 in the U.S. last year, but promising growth in China makes the country a good investment for GM. The luxury brand's sales are heading toward 70,000 for this year, which compares with 50,005 in 2013 sales and 17,366 in 2010, while just last month, China sales rose an impressive 51 percent.
As illustrated when Cadillac announced its headquarters would be moving to New York, the luxury name has been looking to get some healthy distance from GM. Tsien says the focus on China will help establish Cadillac as an emblem worldwide.
"Cadillac needs to stand for Cadillac," said Tsien, as quoted by AN. "We're not going to hide from our American roots. What we want to make sure of is that Cadillac is recognized as a global luxury brand."
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