GM China Head Sees 3-5% Annual Growth In Chinese Car Market Till 2020

China’s automobile market is set to grow by 3 to 5 percent every year till 2020, General Motors country head Matt Tsien reportedly said Monday. Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Tsien added that high-end luxury vehicles and SUVs would see a rise in popularity going forward.

Tsien also revealed Monday that GM will launch 60 new or refreshed vehicles in the next five years, and will introduce over 10 new green energy vehicles to China.

China’s automobile market — one of the most lucrative in the world — bounced back from a slump over the summer of last year, helped by tax breaks introduced by the government later in the year. Overall car sales in the country rose 7.3 percent in 2015, a slower growth rate compared to double-digit gains recorded in 2014 and 2013.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the main industry group for the Chinese automotive industry, forecast the country's vehicle sales to grow 6 percent in 2016.

Meanwhile, GM’s sales in February fell 9 percent due to a wider slowdown, attributed in part to a drop in car purchases around the Lunar New Year holiday, the company said.

The U.S. car manufacturer — with about 14 percent market share in China in 2015 — said its SUVs and MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles) accounted for 40 percent of the firm’s overall China growth. GM’s top brand Buick leads its sales in the Chinese market.

Tsien also said that by 2020, all Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet models will be connected in one way or another, sharing technologies such as automated safety feature, including lane-change alerts, cross-traffic alerts and hands-free driving on highways.