SHANGHAI General Motors Co Ltd yesterday announced a 17-percent jump in the price of its Cadillac SLS luxury sedan, becoming the first car maker to raise prices after a higher auto consumption tax was imposed this month.

The flagship venture between United States-based General Motors Corp and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp is now selling the 4.6-liter SLS luxury sedan at 828,000 yuan (US$121,764) against 708,000 yuan before.

The price rise outpaced the increase in the tax rate after the new tax was implemented from Monday.

The tax rate for models powered by engines larger than 4 liters is 40 percent, doubling the former rate. The rate for models with engines between 3 liters and 4 liters also rose from 15 percent to 25 percent.

Ding Lei, general manager of Shanghai GM, said the price rise aims to help the Cadillac SLS be a mainstream model in the luxury car segment.

But most luxury car makers including BMW ,Mercedes-Benz and Porshe are still studying whether to also raise the prices of their models.

An official from BMW told Shanghai Daily that it will raise prices of affected models but details will be announced later.

But some distributors have already increased the prices of luxury models they sell to avoid making less profit or a loss. The price of the Lexus LS460L went up 185,000 yuan to 1.22 million yuan, and other models in the Lexus range have also risen.

A dealer from Mercedes-Benz, however, said there won't be a major fall in sales because their customers are not price sensitive.

Customers have already bought their cars in July and August before the new tax was imposed, and their purchases would help offset a possible sales fall later.

The Chinese government has introduced various measures to encourage the use of small-engine vehicles and restrain big cars to save energy and protect the environment.






The new tax also lowered the rate to 1 percent for models with engine less than 1 liter, from 3 percent previously.