(Yicai Global) Dec. 5 -- SAIC General Motors, one of the American auto titan' joint ventures in China, plans to ramp up research and development spending to CNY80 billion (USD11.4 billion) over the next five years to rise above the ongoing decline in the world's largest car market.

The money will go toward traditional and new-energy technologies, autonomous driving and networking, National Business Daily cited General Manager Wang Yongqing as saying. About CNY30 billion of the money will go toward electrification, he added.

"NEVs are the future direction of automotive development," Wang said. "The market is facing challenges at the moment, but this will encourage companies to optimize their products and services and lead to high-quality development. This is the only way we can stay ahead amid such fierce competition."

The firm has been revamping its products this year and in the second half of 2019 and all of 2020 will look to shift out the old models to make way for the new, he continued, saying this will have some influence over sales.

SAIC-GM, which sells a range of passenger cars under the Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and other marques, sold about nearly 1.4 million cars this year through October, down 16.1 percent on the year. The industry declined by 9.7 percent over the same period.

The JV will debut at least 10 models next year, including brand new vehicles and facelifts, added Shi Hong, vice president. These will include sports-utility, multi-purpose, luxury and new-energy vehicles, he continued, saying the venture is confident it will outperform the broader market in 2020.

Editor: James Boynton