Cadillac hits 100,000 sales mark for first time

SHANGHAI -- General Motors says it delivered more than 100,000 Cadillac vehicles in China from January to Nov. 25, a jump of 54 percent from the same period last year.

It is the first time that Cadillac's annual sales have exceeded 100,000 vehicles in China, the brand's second-largest market after the United States.

GM said Cadillac's China sales received a boost from three models: the XT5 crossover, the extended wheelbase ATS-L sedan and the XTS sedan. 

October sales of the XT5, Cadillac's top-selling model in China, topped 4,700 vehicles. GM did not disclose sales of other Cadillac models.

The XT5 and CT6 models are assembled at SAIC General Motors' assembly plant in Shanghai. 

SAIC-GM is a 50-50 joint venture between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and General Motors. GM sells other Cadillac models through imports.

Even with the robust growth, Cadillac trails far behind Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, China's top three luxury brands. 

In the first ten months, Audi deliveries rose 5.7 percent to 487,265 vehicles, while BMW sales increased 10 percent to 423,330 units. In the same period, Mercedes sales in China sales jumped 29 percent to 387,015 vehicles.