Chinese market leader Volkswagen is pressing ahead with plans for a new entry-level vehicle for the Chinese car market according to a report on the Automotive News website.
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Speaking at Automotive News International’s Asia-Pacific Conference in Bangkok, Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagen’s vice president for Asia-Pacific, said that he wanted to dispel some confusion over the proposed vehicle.
While the car would be cheaper than a Lupo, retailing at $9,600, it will not be smaller. A likely option is a stripped-down vehicle based on the old Santana platform produced by Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW).
This contradicts earlier reports in the media that Volkswagen would produce a small car based on the same platform as the Lupo (a cut-down AO – Polo – platform).
Plans for a low-cost larger vehicle are consistent with reports that Chinese buyers are attracted to large cars and relatively conservative in their tastes.
For many years, the market has been dominated by large-car purchases from the public sector and state enterprises. Private sector buyers are now becoming much more significant.
China’s pending admission to the WTO is expected to cut import tariffs and lead to downward pressure on car prices.
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