Shanghai GM to build Cadillac plant in China

Shanghai General Motors Co. will build a Cadillac plant and a pan-Asia technical automotive center in Shanghai, sources with the company said at a groundbreaking ceremony held for the plant on Wednesday.

The plant and the technical center will be built with an investment of 8 billion yuan (1.3 billion U.S. dollars).

The Cadillac plant, which will consist of a body shop, a paint shop, a general assembly shop, auxiliary facilities and a brand experience center, has a planned annual production capacity of 160,000 vehicles.

Daniel Akerson, GM chairman and CEO, estimated that the size of China's auto market is expected to reach 30 million vehicles by 2020, 0.1 percent of which will be luxury cars.

It is expected that annual Cadillac sales in China will surpass 100,000 units by 2015, he said.