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GM says China sales to hit 5 million next year

GM says China sales to hit 5 million next year, Cadillac to double to 100,000

Brand ambassador Taiwanese actor Kai Ko, left and Amber Kuo step into a Chevrolet Trax urban SUV during the China launch of the car ahead of Auto China 2014 in Beijing, China, Saturday, April 19, 2014. The Trax will go on sale in China starting at RMB 119,900 or $19,300. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

BEIJING (AP) -- Sales of GM-brand vehicles in China should reach 5 million next year, and Cadillac sales will double to 100,000, the president of General Motors said Sunday.

Speaking at the Beijing auto show, Dan Amman said the Detroit automaker and its Chinese partners plan to open three additional factories this year and two next year. That will add production capacity of 700,000 vehicles per year.

GM hopes the "total scope" of its sales reaches 5 million units by 2015, Amman said at a news conference.

"We are moving full speed to keep up," Amman said. "We count on China for another record year in 2014."

The company plans to increase production capacity in China by 65 percent by 2020, Amman said.

General Motors is neck-and-neck with Germany's Volkswagen AG for China's biggest-selling vehicle brand.

The company said previously it, along with local partners, will invest $11 billion in China between this year and 2017.

GM manufactures sedans, minivans and pickup trucks in joint ventures with state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industries Co. and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co. The three companies also launched a separate low-cost brand, Baojun.