GM's Cadillac expects double digit growth rate in China sales this year

General Motor Co's premium Cadillac brand expects sales in China to see a double digit percentage growth this year, its China chief, Andreas Schaaf, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The brand expects China to be its top market in less than five years, Schaaf added.

Cadillac has been slow to enter China compared to premium German competitors like BMW and Volkswagen's Audi, opening its first dedicated factory last year that helped boost sales 46 percent to 116,406 vehicles in 2016.

With the growing importance of the market, Cadillac also plans to launch more products in China ahead of other regions in future, Schaaf said during an interview in Beijing.

(Reporting by Jake Spring in BEIJING; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)