General Motors Corp said on Friday it will build a comprehensive vehicle proving ground in China as the Detroit automaker seeks to speed up research and development in the world's second-largest car market.

Shanghai General Motors, GM's venture with Shanghai Automotive Co Ltd, will spend 1.6 billion yuan ($213 million) on a 5.6 square kilometer (2.16 sq mile) testing ground, China's biggest, in the eastern province of Anhui.

"The move will help us to accelerate product development and save costs in China," said GM China spokeswoman Sophia Luan.

Detroit-based GM competes with Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG and other global rivals in China, where vehicle output has grown rapidly at an average 26 percent a year from 2001.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest auto maker, has raised its China sales target this year by 12.5 percent to 900,000 units, reflecting brisk sales in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

GM sold 876,747 vehicles in China in 2006 and expects sales to exceed 1 million this year.