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Cadillac, relatively late to introduce local production in the
world's biggest auto market, is among a second wave of luxury
car brands in China that seek to take market share from
established brands such as BMW <BMWG.DE>, Daimler's <DAIGn.DE>
Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen's <VOWG_p.DE> Audi.
While it surpassed Toyota's <7203.T> Lexus, which does not
manufacture in China, in sales to become the fifth best-selling
premium marque in the country last year, Cadillac still lags the
German "Big Three" and No. 4 Jaguar Land Rover [TAMOJL.UL].
The brand has to do a "mind shift" to no longer think of itself
as a second-tier brand, Cadillac's China chief, Andreas Schaaf,
told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "We want to move up to
the top three," he said, adding he expects China to become
Cadillac's biggest market in less than five years.
For 2017, Schaaf said he was "optimistic".
"We are expecting another double-digit growth in China. Most
likely not in the same range as what we have seen last year
(2016) because growth of nearly 50 percent is truly a very
exceptional year," he said during the interview.
PLUG-IN PUSH
Underlining the brand's aim to be perceived as international and
cut its reliance on its home market, the United States, Schaaf
said Cadillac planned to launch more products in China ahead of
other regions in the future.
This month, Cadillac is rolling out a plug-in hybrid version of
its CT6 flagship sedan in China, which it looks to follow up
with launches of more plug-ins and electric vehicles to meet the
country's strict emission regulations.
Cadillac's CT6 plug-in uses 1.7 liters of petrol per 100
kilometers, versus 7.9 liters for the normal version and far
below China's average fuel use requirements of 5 liters by 2020.
Shanghai, where plug-ins get free license plates, is the key
market for the CT6 hybrid, he said.
"A brand that doesn't have more plug-ins and more electric
vehicles will most likely have a very difficult future in
China," Schaaf said.
China's auto market recorded a 13.7 percent rise in sales for
2016, aided partly by a cut in taxes on small-engine vehicles.
Sales growth is expected to slow this year as the incentive is
phased out by 2018.
(Reporting by Jake Spring, writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by
Himani Sarkar)
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