Volkswagen is to protect its dominant share of a market it expects to double in size within five years by launching a small car in China in the coming year, Reuters reported.
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Volkswagen’s share of the Chinese market fell below 50 percent because of a boom in cars costing less than 100,000 yuan ($12,080), some 10 percent less than its cheapest model, the Santana sedan, the report added.
“This is the segment, the price class, that is showing the most dynamic growth and we’re going to react to that,” board member Robert Buechelhofer told Reuters during a German business conference.
“We’re going to fight to get our market share back up to 50 percent,” he added, according to the Reuters report.
Reuters said Buechelhofer declined to name the model but said it would be built in one of Volkswagen’s existing Chinese plants.
A VW China spokesman earlier told Reuters: “Under the Volkswagen umbrella there are a number of models that would be suitable. No decision has been made, but it will be an existing Volkswagen model with some modifications for the China market.”
