SGM, a joint-venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, has until now focused mainly on the medium to lower market segments with its range of Buick models.
Bates and ZenithOptimedia currently handle the creative and media briefs for Buick respectively, and both are expected to join the pitch.
McCann-Erickson and Universal McCann, the worldwide agency of record for GM, are also in the running as is TBWA and Leo Burnett, whose US subsidiary Chemistry, handles the Cadillac account.
Sources said that SGM had sent out a request for information to seven to eight agencies and that a pitch would follow as soon as the car maker issues a brief. "They are asking for a lot of information such as how we will organise ourselves for the business," one said.
The Buick account is not under review, however, sources believe the Cadillac pitch could be a forerunner for the latter's review. Industry sources believe SGM is likely to relook current agency arrangement following the purchase of Bates' parent Cordiant by the Ford-aligned WPP group. WPP agencies are the global agency of record on Ford.
"Any self-respecting client will stick their head above the parapet to assess the situation around them and determine if they are getting the best service," another source said.
Last year, SGM sold over 100,000 Buicks, up 100 per cent from 2001.
According to Nielsen Media Research, its monitored adspend in 2002 was US$26 million. China's car market has been growing at a blistering pace.
Official figures reveal that sales of domestically-produced cars jumped 50 per cent to 1.1 million units last year and that this number would rise another 36 per cent to 1.5 million vehicles in 2003.