"We are very confident that we can double our sales in five years, as we have got very good plans to introduce new products and (expand) production capacity," Sophia Luan, GM China's Shanghai-based spokeswoman, told AFP.

The company expects to boost sales in the country to more than two million vehicles over the next five years and launch over 30 new or upgraded models during the period, including five more Buicks and five more Chevrolets.

Detroit-based GM Corp is on the verge of bankruptcy due to plunging sales at home and in other markets.

In the United States it has received 13.4 billion dollars in federal bailout funds and has until June 1 to submit a restructuring plan to the US Treasury as part of a request for more government loans and avoid bankruptcy.

Former CEO Rick Wagoner was recently ousted and replaced by Fritz Henderson on White House orders.

However, sales in China have remained buoyant and the firm, together with its Chinese joint ventures, set a new company monthly record in March of 137,004 units sold, up 24.6 percent from a year ago.

"Therefore we are still profitable and have abundant cash so we can afford production expansion," said Luan.

"We have sufficient funding for all the investment we have committed to and for the investment in future expansions to double sales," she said.

While cutting capacity in the United States, GM in December opened a new joint venture factory in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang that was expected to soon begin mass production of the compact Chevrolet Cruze.

The company is also in talks with China's FAW Group to form a partnership to set up a light commercial vehicle joint venture, according to Luan.

China's car sales hit a monthly record of 1.08 million units last month, outstripping the United States as the world's largest market for a third month running on the back of government incentives to boost domestic consumption.

These measures included slashing purchase taxes on small vehicles and subsidising buying alternative energy vehicles.

In 2008, GM sold more than 1.09 million vehicles in China, 6.1 percent higher than 2007.

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The Hague (AFP) April 3, 2009
The Netherlands will introduce a car trade-in bonus of possibly up to 1,750 euros by mid-2009 to help boost sales of new cars and the economy, as well as to cut pollution, the environment ministry said Friday.