General Motors Co's (GM) luxury car division Cadillac Motors is upbeat about its sales prospect in China for the current year, expecting sales to continue growing at a double digit rate. But luxury carmaker anticipates that the sales would grow at a slower pace than 2016.

"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," Cadillac's China chief, Andreas Schaaf, told Reuters.  

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Cadillac had capped up an exceptional year in 2016 in China, with annual sales volume witnessing robust growth after inauguration of its first dedicated factory in the country.

Cadillac, which is still relatively a new brand in the world's largest auto market, has already overtaken Toyota's Lexus in sales. But the American luxury carmaker is still lagging behind Germany's three big luxury brands: BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen's Audi.

Andreas, however, is hopeful about posing a major challenge to the German brands, adding that the brand needs to change its attitude big time to no longer perceive itself as a second-tier label.

He said that "We want to move up to the top three," predicting that China would become Cadillac's biggest market in less than five years.

Last year, China's car market surprisingly shrugged off the economic recession that flattened the country's growth rate. Buoyed by Chinese consumer's appetite for new cars, many big auto companies like Honda, Hyundai, and Volkswagen have announced to expand their production in China.  

TagsCadillac China, Cadillac Motors, General Motors, GM China, china