Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest carmaker, will start selling the Buick Royaum model in China next March as it tries to catch up with Volkswagen AG and other rivals in the world's third-largest vehicle market.

The new model will be initially available in more than 20 cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, said Shanghai General Motors, a joint venture between General Motors and China's largest carmaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

General Motors Corp. and other foreign carmakers are building more luxury models into China to help them expand as the number of wealthy consumers increases. Detroit-based General Motors plans to make Cadillacs at its Shanghai venture. DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest automaker, plans to start making Mercedes-Benz cars in China next year.

The Buick Royaum model will compete with Volkswagen's Audi A6 sedans, which start at about 270,000 yuan ($32,600) and sell for as much as 534,900 yuan each. Another major competitor of the model is Dongfeng Motor Corp.'s Teana model, which sell for about 350,000 yuan.

The rear-wheel 2.8-liter or 3.6-liter model is based on the Statesman and Caprice made by General Motors' Holden Australian unit, the company said in a statement, without providing sale prices.

Shanghai General Motors' shares aren't publicly traded. The shares of Shanghai Automotive Co., which owns shares of Shanghai General Motors, fell 0.36 percent to 5.49 yuan at 11:30am in Shanghai. Holden's shares aren't publicly traded.

Shanghai General Motors sold a record of 227,522 vehicles in the first 11 months of this year, 25 percent more than a year earlier, the company said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tian Ying in Beijing on ytian@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 16, 2004 23:48 EST