Shanghai General Motors Co Ltd, which halted the production of its Cadillac in China a month ago, said it will introduce another home-made Cadillac model early next year.

 

Shanghai GM, General Motors' joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, said the new model to be made in China will be its mainstream Cadillac model. The new car would be unveiled at the Beijing Autoshow at the end of the year.

 

The move comes after it announced it would import its Cadillac CTS and Cadillac SRX instead of making them domestically after gaining government approval to import them.

 

"The production halt does not mean that we give up our long term developing strategy of domestic production of Cadillacs," according to an e-mail from the communications department of Shanghai GM.

 

The company said it has prepared for the domestic production of its luxury nameplate by setting aside assembly lines in its second plant in Shanghai's Jinqiao area, and the new model would meet the government's requirement on using more home-made auto parts.

 

"We will still import models that are not suitable for mass production as there is a demand for such cars, whereas more mainstream models suitable for mass output will be made domestically," the e-mail said.

 

Although China is promoting small-engine vehicles for energy efficiency, the high-end luxury models are still in demand.

 

Shanghai GM started the domestic production of Cadillac in 2004 to compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi in the luxury car market.

 

It also plans to introduce another new model this year to boost the brand awareness and to expand the number of Cadillac dealers from the current 14 to 40 by the end of the year nationwide.

 

Shanghai GM holds the Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and Saab brands in China.

 

(Shanghai Daily June 13, 2006)