A car is being sprayed-paint on the assembly line at the GM Shanghai Cadillac plant in Shanghai, China, 29 January 2016.--CHINA OUT-- General Motors Co. opened a $1.2 billion plant in Shanghai to build premium-brand Cadillac cars targeting a luxury market that has been pressured by China's economic slowdown. The facility, operated by U.S.-based GM and its Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp., will be able to produce 160, 000 cars a year. "We do firmly believe that there is strong potential for luxury [cars] in China, " said Matt Tsien, president of GM China. The company projects China's luxury-car market will have annual sales of 3.5 million units in 2020, accounting for more than a 10% share of the country's overall auto market, he said. "Local production will enable us to satisfy growing demand for luxury vehicles through the introduction of more Cadillac models built in and for China, " said Mr. Tsien. GM sold about 80, 000 Cadillacs last year in China, taking a roughly 4.2% share of the luxury segment, the company said.
