General Motors Co aims to grow faster than China's auto market in 2010, its China chief said on Wednesday, after outperforming the country's overall market in the first three quarters.

GM, which competes with Volkswagen AG and others, sold 55.6 percent more vehicles in China from January to September, leading a 34.24 gain in the overall market. Next year we will again try to grow a little faster than the market's growth, said Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM's China operations.

Wale, speaking to reporters via an online briefing, said the Detroit automaker may sell more than 1.6 million vehicles in China this year, in line with his earlier forecast of more than 40 percent year-on-year growth.

It sold 1.09 million vehicles in China in 2008.

China's auto market has been a major bright spot this year thanks to a raft of government incentives, including aggressive cuts in sales taxes on small cars, which will expire by the end of the year.

However, Wale is optimistic on the outlook of the China auto market, which overtook the United States as the world's biggest in January, as he believes Beijing will come up with additional steps to support the industry, a major contributor to the country's economy.

We expect sales to continue to grow next year. We are confident the government will take appropriate action to continue stability in the market, he said, adding that demand in smaller cities would also ensure some growth momentum. (Reporting by Fang Yan and Edmund Klamann; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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