Competition is intensifying in the lucrative market for luxury cars in China as upstarts such as Cadillac and Infiniti look to take on popular stalwarts like Audi and BMW just as signs of a slowdown appear in the world's largest auto market.

General Motors Co. on Monday said the U.S. auto maker will bring five to 10 new Cadillac models to China through 2016 and will build at least one factory here that will produce only Cadillacs. The move marks an attempt to make the brand, which has struggled in the U.S., more profitable and bring down per-unit costs.

'Any successful auto company must have a successful luxury brand that competes around the world,' GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said at the China unveiling of the Cadillac models during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

Also at the Beijing show on Monday, Nissan Motor Co. unveiled a new version of its midsize Infiniti M35 hybrid sedan with an extended wheelbase designed to give wealthy Chinese owners who employ personal drivers a roomier back seat.

Meanwhile, other auto makers are revving up efforts to appeal to affluent car owners. Ferrari said it would offer its 12-cylinder F12 Berlinetta, while Volkswagen AG's Lamborghini showed off its conceptversion of a Urus sport-utility vehicle.

'The industry is competitive. Why should China be immune to that?' said Bob Grace, China president for Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar Land Rover unit. 'You can't be fat and lazy, because it is going to get tough.' Jaguar unveiled its own offering on Monday, a variant of its XJ sedan called the XJ Ultimate that features a back seat with embedded iPads, concealed Champagne flutes and a Champagne cooler.

Sales of high-end cars have continued to surge despite a slowdown in China's broader auto market because of strong demand from the growing ranks of China's millionaires. Last year premium-car sales here rose 32%, according to researcher IHS Global Insight, even as the industry grew just 2.5%, a sharp slowdown from the double-digit growth of years past. That has made China a profit driver for luxury-car makers as Europe remains in the doldrums and the U.S. economy expands slowly.

But some in the industry said a slowdown is inevitable, even if sales growth remains faster than the larger market, as China's economy slows and more competitors pile in.

'The premium-car market will slow somewhat in coming quarters, though it will still be double-digit growth,' said Ian Robertson, BMW AG's sales chief and a member of its management board.

Mr. Robertson said BMW is on track to increase its domestic production in China to about 200,000 vehicles from 100,000 when it opens a second plant this year but will wait before increasing production capacity by about 100,000. 'We have the potential to up production to 300,000, but we're not going to do it until we're sure the market will take it,' he said.

BMW added to its own China offerings on Monday, unveiling a version of its 3 Series sedan with a longer wheelbase to add extra rear room.

Other executives said the market still has plenty of room to grow. Peter Schwarzenbauer, a member of the management board of Volkswagen's Audi unit, said expansion of luxury dealerships into China's interior cities and growing interest in niches such as entry-level premium cars will help make China the world's No. 1 premium-car market by 2015, eclipsing the U.S., which he said has about 1.3 million in annual premium-car sales. China topped the U.S. in total auto sales in 2009.

Cadillac's share of the U.S. luxury market has declined over the last decade to 1.2% last year from 1.4% in 2005, when the brand sold 235,002. GM sold 152,389 Cadillacs last year. Mr. Akerson said he sees China's Cadillac sales volumes matching those of the U.S. by the middle of the decade.

GM on Monday announced that the Cadillac XTS will go on sale in China at the end of this year and will be built here. GM also said it would import the Cadillac ELR, a battery-powered coupe that uses the same technology as its Chevrolet Volt. GM also plans to sell the smaller Cadillac ATS here.

Cadillac is almost an entirely a U.S. brand, with limited sales in places like the Mideast and Australia. Mr. Akerson said Cadillac, if it becomes successful in China, could eventually deliver the same high margins on a global basis that the company now earns on its big trucks and SUVs in the U.S. Those vehicles generally earn margins of $7,000 or more, analysts estimate.

Mr. Akerson is undaunted by the recent mainstream car-market slowdown. Sales of luxury vehicles rose 39% in China last year.

'We expect that growth to remain strong,' he said.

GM's crosstown rival, Ford Motor Co., has no immediate plans to get into the luxury race here. Ford's Asia chief, Joe Hinrichs, said Ford plans to keep its higher-end Lincoln brand solely in the U.S. while it works to rebuild the struggling nameplate.

'The most important thing for Lincoln is to follow the plan and see how it does in North America,' Mr. Hinrichs said.

Sharon Terlep / Carlos Tejada

• competition [,kɔmpi´tiʃən]   n.比赛；竞争   (初中英语单词)
• luxury [´lʌkʃəri]   n.奢侈(品)；享受   (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv]   a.行政的 n.行政官   (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl]   a.国际的，世界的   (初中英语单词)
• wealthy [´welθi]   a.富有的；丰富的   (初中英语单词)
• concept [´kɔnsept]   n.概念；观念；思想   (初中英语单词)
• despite [di´spait]   prep.尽管   (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi]   n.经济；机制；组织   (初中英语单词)
• management [´mænidʒmənt]   n.管理；处理；经营   (初中英语单词)
• domestic [də´mestik]   a.家庭的；本国的   (初中英语单词)
• capacity [kə´pæsiti]   n.容量；智能；能力   (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z]   n.连续；系列；丛书   (初中英语单词)
• interior [in´tiəriə]   n.&a.内部地(的)   (初中英语单词)
• annual [´ænjuəl]   a.每年的 n.年刊   (初中英语单词)
• import [im´pɔ:t, ´impɔ:t]   vt.&n.进口；输入   (初中英语单词)
• profitable [´prɔfitəbəl]   a.有益的；有用的   (高中英语单词)
• exhibition [eksi´biʃ(ə)n]   n.展览；显示；表演   (高中英语单词)
• appeal [ə´pi:l]   vi.&n.请求；呼吁；上诉   (高中英语单词)
• offering [´ɔfəriŋ]   n.提供；礼物；捐献   (高中英语单词)
• ultimate [´ʌltimit]   a.最终的 n.终极；顶点   (高中英语单词)
• inevitable [i´nevitəbəl]   a.不可避免的   (高中英语单词)
• potential [pə´tenʃəl]   n.&a.潜在的；可能的   (高中英语单词)
• expansion [ik´spænʃən]   n.扩大；膨胀；发展   (高中英语单词)
• decade [´dekeid]   n.十年(间)   (高中英语单词)
• limited [´limitid]   a.有限(制)的   (高中英语单词)
• solely [´səulli]   ad.唯一；单独；完全   (高中英语单词)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən]   n.翻译；说明；译本   (英语四级单词)
• competitive [kəm´petitiv]   a.竞争的，比赛的   (英语四级单词)
• premium [´pri:miəm]   n.奖励；奖金；保险费   (英语四级单词)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli]   ad.最后，终于   (英语四级单词)
• lincoln [´liŋkən]   n.林肯   (英语四级单词)
• rebuild [,ri:´bild]   vt.重建；改造   (英语四级单词)
• hybrid [´haibrid]   n.杂种；混合物   (英语六级单词)
• extended [iks´tendid]   a.伸长的；广大的   (英语六级单词)
• champagne [ʃæm´pein]   n.香槟酒；微黄色   (英语六级单词)
• insight [´insait]   n.洞悉；洞察力；见识   (英语六级单词)