General Motors Corp.'s car sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose 20 percent during the first nine months of this year over last year, and the company is continuing to increase its presence in the region, GM Chairman John. F. Smith Jr. said Monday.

Rudolph A. Schlais Jr. (right), vice president of General Motors Corp., and Akira Tsutsui, vice president of Suzuki Motor Corp., unveil the Chevrolet Cruze, a five-door compact, in Tokyo.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, Smith said the firm's market share in the region was 3.1 percent during the same period, compared with 2.5 percent during the same period a year earlier.