At a ceremony held Monday evening in Guangzhou, the joint venture of SAIC and General Motors announced the market launch of the Cadillac XTS luxury sedan. With two engine options, a 3.6L V6 and turbo 2.0L, the Chinese-made XTS is priced between 349,900 and 569,900 Yuan (US$56,163-91,475), taking direct aim at BMW 5 series, Audi A6, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Built on an upgraded Epsilon II platform, the XTS has a 2,837mm wheelbase and 5131mm body-length. It is supported by HiPer struts at the front and H-arm multi-links with air springs in the rear; both suspensions come with Magnetic Ride Control (MRC).

For powertrain, two direct-injection engines were employed, both paired with a 6AT. In addition to the 3.6L V6 (LFX), its only engine choice in the US, the XTS gets in the Chinese market a turbo 2.0 liter (LTG). Named by Ward’s as one of the best ten engines for 2013, the 2.0T is also founded on Cadillac ATS, the production of which by Shanghai-GM will begin in the second half of this year.

At the press conference for the new car release, Shanghai-GM introduced its "10-10" strategy for growing its luxury brand in China: Cadillac is to sell over 100,000 cars in 2015 (up from 30,010 in 2012), and to take 10% of the luxury market (up from 2.5% in 2012). Cadillac’s dealer count, currently at over 100, will increase to 250 by 2015.

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