Shanghai General Motors Co, an alliance between General Motors and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, has become the number one selling car manufacturer in China.

For the first time, Shanghai General Motors sold more cars over a monthly period than Volkswagen AG's local venture with Shanghai Automotive, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co.

According to Bloomberg, which cites the Shanghai Daily, figures released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) show that Shanghai General Motors sold 24,040 cars in June while Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive sold 20,805 cars.

CAAM explained that demand for Shanghai General Motors cars was driven by the introduction by new models and price reductions.

General Motors is to double its production in China to around 1.3 million units as part of a $3 billion three-year project.

The rapidly expanding Chinese car market is likely to increase demand for platinum used by car manufacturers in autocatalysts to lower emission pollutants.