Cadillac will increase sales in China this year by 25 percent to more than 100,000 vehicles, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen said in an interview with Reuters.

 

Last month, General Motors' luxury brand began production of its flagship sedan, the CT6, at a new factory in China. The CT6 joins the locally produced long-wheelbase Cadillac ATS and XTS sedans.

 

"China is a very important part of the globalization of Cadillac, and we actually seek to establish China as a substantial second volume hub for the brand," de Nysschen said in the Friday interview.

 

GM sold 175,267 Cadillacs in the United States in 2015. If China overtakes the United States as Cadillac's top sales market, that would be "a long way off," perhaps five to 10 years, de Nysschen said.

 

While China will remain Cadillac's No. 2 market for another decade or so, the luxury brand has enjoyed strong growth there. Last year, Cadillac deliveries rose 17 percent to 79,779 vehicles, thanks to strong demand for the ATS sedan.

 

Cadillac and Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand are among a second wave of luxury car brands in China that seek to take market share from established brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

 

Cadillac will expand its product portfolio and "aggressively" localize production, de Nysschen said.

 

The new assembly plant that currently only produces the CT6 can be expanded to build 150,000 vehicles. The company next will introduce the locally produced XT5 crossover and plans to launch four more models in China by 2020.

 

These vehicles would double Cadillac's lineup of China-produced models.

 

Cadillac cars are produced through GM's joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp.