Volkswagen plans to double sales in China to over 2m units a year by 2018.
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The one-time foreign brand leader said it would achieve that target by adding or updating at least four models each year over the next decade, doubling the number of dealerships and increasing production capacity, according to a company statement cited by Agence France-Presse.
“We endeavour to double our sales and maintain our leading position in China’s automobile industry in the future,” Winfried Vahland, chief executive of Volkswagen Group China, said in the statement.
Volkswagen and its two Chinese joint ventures, Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen, sold 1.02m vehicles in the country in 2008, up 12.5% year on year.
The company said the weakening economy and slowing growth of China’s auto market would not deter it from investing further there.
“We recognise that the slowdown presents challenges… Over the next two years, we will remain flexible, preparing for several scenarios,” Vahland said.
Last year China’s auto sales rose 6.7 percent, the lowest level in a decade, to 9.38m units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
State media reported this week Beijing was aiming for an average growth rate of 10% over the next three years for the auto sector, citing details of a stimulus plan for the industry approved by the cabinet in January.
