GM to launch 15 new and redesigned models in China this year

BEIJING (Reuters) - General Motors Co plans to launch 15 new and redesigned vehicles in China this year, in a bid to "strengthen sales momentum" in the world's biggest automobile market, the company said on Tuesday.

Roughly half of these new products will be sport-utility vehicles and minivans, while others are models for GM's premium brand - Cadillac.

"GM will sharpen its focus on the segments with the strongest consumer demand such as SUVs, MPVs and luxury vehicles," the company said in a statement.

GM and its local joint venture partners sold 4.04 million vehicles in China last year, an increase of 4.4 percent from a year earlier. The pace was slightly faster than that at which China's overall vehicle market grew last year.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, vehicle sales in China totaled 28.88 million vehicles last year, up 3 percent on year.

(Reporting By Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)