General Motors Corp.'s flagship venture in China said on Monday it plans to export 10,000 of its Chevrolet Lova compact cars to Ukraine in its largest export deal to date, to tap the potential of the Eastern European market.

Shanghai GM, the Detroit giant's tie-up with top Chinese car maker Shanghai Automotive Co. (600104.SS), also makes Buick and Cadillac models in China.

Several Chinese carmakers are pursuing ambitious plans to boost exports, although GM has said its joint ventures would remain focused on the China market.

Sales of the Chevrolet Lova have topped 60,000 since its debut in the world's second-largest auto market in March 2006, the venture said in a statement.

It added that about 70,000 of the 1.4 and 1.6 litre engines designed for the Chevrolet models would be sold to South Korea.

In 2006, GM, which also operates a commercial vehicle venture in south China, sold 876,747 vehicles in China, up 31.8 percent from 2005.

The company's sales this year are expected to grow at least 15 percent, beating an estimated 10 to 15 percent expansion of the market, GM China President Kevin Wale told Reuters in November.

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