Attendees visit the General Motors Co (GM) Cadillac booth at the Auto Shanghai 2017 vehicle show in Shanghai, April 20, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

CHICAGO - General Motors (GM) announced on its website Thursday that the US automaker and its joint ventures in China sold 272,770 vehicles in China in April this year, down 1.9 percent year on year.

Overall, GM's sales in China in the first four months of this year dropped 4.5 percent.

The Detroit-based automaker attributed the sales decline to an earlier Chinese holiday and the reduction of a purchase tax incentive.

However, luxury Cadillac and Baojun brands set sales records in April.

To be specific, sales of Cadillac brand in China soared 98 percent year on year to 13,903 units in April; that of Baojun climbed 58 percent to 60,000 units.

Sales of GM's luxury vehicles, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles rose 14 percent year on year and accounted for about half of GM's total sales in China in April.

China is GM's largest sales market overseas. GM plans to launch 18 new or significantly modified vehicles in China this year, half of which are SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles.

As for other brands, Buick sales totaled 84,162 units in China in April, down 15 percent year on year; Wuling sales came to 82,679 units, down 16 percent; and Chevrolet sold 32,044 units, down 9.6 percent.