GM's market in China continues to be strong: GM vice president

Although the largest U.S. auto maker General Motors (GM) is preparing for possible bankruptcy, its market in China continues to be strong, GM Vice President Ray Yong said Monday.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua at GM's headquarters in the auto city of Detroit, Yong said that the company has a record sale in China in the first quarter of 2009.

"We are very pleased as the market is growing for us in China," said Yong, who is also GM's chief financial officer.

"We believe that in 2009 with Chinese economy continues to grow, there will be another record year for the Chinese auto industry and GM as well in China," he said.

GM aims to double its annual sales in China to 2 million vehicles in five years. And to meet that target, the U.S. auto maker plans to add more than 30 new or upgraded models in China in the next five years.

When asked to comment on the Chinese auto industry, Yong said, "The Chinese auto industry is an evolving industry, it has the advantage of a very strong domestic market, so that it gains economy's scale."

"I truly believe that at some juncture, there will be Chinese vehicles sold in the U.S., the Chinese auto makers are learning from a lot of the foreign brands," he said.

"I am not sure when will the first Chinese cars be sold in mass in the United States or in North America, but clearly if you look at trends, for example, the Japanese and the Koreans at some junctures, the Chinese auto makers will be selling cars in the United states or North America, and this is good for Americans or North Americans as they will have more choices in vehicles," he said.

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