The move will make China the first country outside North America to offer OnStar, said Henry Wong, spokesman for Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co.

At this stage, OnStar services will only be activated for Shanghai GM's products and Shanghai OnStar has no plan to provide the services for other automakers in China, he added.

OnStar will first be included on Cadillac vehicles, followed by Buick and lastly Chevrolet, says Shanghai OnStar in a statement. For the first year, Shanghai GM will provide OnStar free of charge to customers with OnStar-equipped vehicles, it adds.

According to Shanghai Onstar, at launch, OnStar will provide 14 services in China, which include automatic crash response, emergency services, automatic air bag deployment response, OnStar vehicle diagnostics, on-demand diagnostics, good Samaritan, stolen vehicle location, remote door unlock, remote horn and lights, roadside assistance, hands-free calling, point of interest, turn-by-turn navigation and destination download.

China Telecom is OnStar's exclusive wireless network provider in China. The services will be available throughout mainland China and will be first launched in Mandarin Chinese, says Shanghai OnStar in the statement.

Incorporated earlier this month, Shanghai OnStar is a joint venture between General Motors, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and Shanghai GM.

Shanghai GM is a joint venture between GM and SAIC.