GM, VW Vie for Leadership in China Car Sales

General Motors Co. outsold Volkswagen AG in China by more than 38,000 units in the first quarter of 2014, according to data from the two companies.

VW, which surpassed GM last year by 110,000 units, thinks it can do so again this year, mainly with new models and a plan to expand its dealer network in China 50% to 3,600 outlets by 2018.

"It's a horse race," GM China President Matt Tsien tells Bloomberg News.

GM is rolling out six new models in China this year, including an updated version of its best-selling Chevrolet Cruze small sedan. The company is hiking local production capacity by two-thirds and expects to debut more than 60 other new or updated models in China by 2018.