Dow Jones Newswires - German auto maker Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) Thursday opened a new plant in China's eastern Jiangsu province ahead of schedule as part of a plan to expand manufacturing capacity in its largest market.
The new plant -- located in Yizheng, 300 kilometers away from the country's economic hub of Shanghai -- has a maximum annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, the company said.
It was originally supposed to start in 2013, but it was opened earlier. The company didn't say why.
Volkswagen said earlier it will build another production plant in Foshan, in southern China.
China is the largest market for the German auto maker, with its sales in the country hitting 2.26 million units in 2011. In the first half of 2012, its sales rose by 17.5% to 1.3 million vehicles.
