GM Eyes Sales Growth for Cadillac in U.S., China

General Motors (NYSE:GM) luxury brand Cadillac expects sales growth of 32% in the U.S. and 50% in China, Cadillac brand chief Bob Ferguson said Tuesday.

Cadillac, which unveiled a new CTS sedan this week at the New York International Auto Show, is on pace this year to sell more than 187,000 cars in the U.S. and 45,000 to 50,000 cars in China.

The sales growth will largely be driven by the brand’s sedans, the ATS, XTS and refreshed CTS that goes into production later this year. Ferguson expressed confidence that Cadillac is taking the fight to its German competitors like Mercedes-Benz.

“Let them underestimate us because we are going to surprise them,” Ferguson said at an event Tuesday. “The CTS is telling the story of Cadillac's return and it will help Cadillac achieve sales numbers Cadillac has never posted.”

"We need to sell a lot of CTS cars. This will be a big part of the volume growth of Cadillac sales,” he added.

Ferguson said Cadillac sales should triple in China over the next three years. Cadillac now has more than 200 dealerships in China, and Ferguson said he anticipates having the ATS produced there by the end of this year. Cadillac already makes the XTS in China.

Shares of GM were down 18 cents at $27.97 in pre-market trading.