SHANGHAI— General Motors Co. ’s plans to ramp up electric-vehicle production in China were set back after the auto maker determined the Chinese-made batteries it intended to use failed to meet its own performance and safety standards during testing.

GM was set to enter production next month on its plug-in hybrid Buick Velite 6, a local variant of the Volt, with a pure-electric version due to follow early next year.

That launch schedule has now been postponed, with internal tests showing the battery, supplied by A123 Systems, didn’t meet GM’s quality standards, according to a person familiar with the situation. EV batteries are complex components that can’t easily be switched, spelling lengthy delays in getting the Velite 6 into production.

A GM spokeswoman declined to comment on the situation, but said the company still intends to launch 10 EVs in China by 2020. However, that target was announced over a year ago, long before the battery supply problem arose.

“GM’s plan is to deliver 20 EVs globally by 2023,” the spokeswoman said. “In China, we are on track to introduce 10 new energy vehicles between 2016 and 2020. Given those two goals, all-electric vehicles like the Velite 6 battery electric vehicle are obviously our priority.”