SHANGHAI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp has revamped its mid-size sedan for the booming China market, launching the Buick Regal car on Thursday in the world's fastest growing auto market.
Priced at 338,000 yuan to 369,000 yuan ($40,830-44,580), the top-of-the-line Regal comes with a 2.98-litre engine and electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, GM said in a statement.
It is the first vehicle built in China by an original equipment manufacturer to include a DVD entertainment system, GM said. The car also offers three separate 5.8-inch (14.7 cm) LCD screens and a six-disk CD/VCD/MP3 changer.
The Regal's price tag is similar to that of the original Buick mid-size sedans made by GM's Shanghai plant, and competes with Honda Motor Co's popular Accords.
"Shanghai GM devoted 18 months of planning and testing to upgrade the exterior and interior of its current lineup of Buick midsize sedans," General Motors said in the statement.
"The result is a highly competitive product lineup that will replace Shanghai GM's original mid-size sedans and cater fully to Chinese customers," it said.
China, with its steady economic growth of about eight percent annually and 1.3 billion population, has become a strategic focus for almost all the world's top automakers. Many are launching new models and boosting production capacity in the country.
Annual car sales in China jumped 55 percent this year to top the one million mark for the first time, and GM has said it expected the market to grow by about 10 percent annually for the next six or seven years.
Shanghai GM, a 50-50 joint venture between the world's largest automaker and China's Shanghai Automotive Industry (Group) Corp, holds an 8.9 percent share of the Chinese car market, ranking third behind two Volkswagen ventures.
GM said the Regal would also be outfitted with two-litre and 2.5-litre engines in February, when deliveries would begin.
The company gave no immediate sales forecast. ($1=8.277 Yuan)