GM’s 5-year plan for China, running through 2020, calls for the company and its various joint ventures to release more than 60 new + refreshed models in the country — including more than 10 so-called new energy vehicles (a tag which includes electric vehicles) — according to reports.
These electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offerings will be released under the Cadillac, Chevy, Buick, and Baojun brands, reportedly — with much of production occurring directly in China. The Cadillac CT6 PHEV, for instance, will be built in Shanghai, China.
Much of GM’s focus in the Chinese market will apparently be on SUVs, luxury vehicles, and MPVs.
Green Car Congress provides more:
Continued strong demand by customers generated record vehicle deliveries, which helped China remain GM’s largest market. Last year, China accounted for more than one-third of the company’s global deliveries. GM expects China’s vehicle market to increase by 5 million units or more by 2020, representing growth of about 3-5% annually.
…GM anticipates about 4.2 million units of growth in China’s SUV, MPV and luxury segments through 2020, with the industry’s luxury segment expected to generate compound annual growth of more than 10% during that period.
On a related note, GM recently revealed a long-term strategic alliance with the ride-sharing company Lyft that’s intended to result in the creation of “an integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles” in the US. GM will be investing $500 million into the partnership. Considering the recent news of a (supposed) deal between Uber and Mercedes, it seems that practically every auto company is now trying to position itself for the emerging autonomous taxi/ride-sharing sector.
Related to that, GM was reported earlier this month to have purchased Cruise Automation, in order to increase its talent pool with regard to the autonomous driving sector.