Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, aims to double its U.S. market share in three to five years by targeting consumers seeking cars that use less fuel, the company's U.S. chief executive officer said.
Volkswagen and its luxury Audi brand can build on their combined 2.7 percent share of a market hampered by the lingering effects of the recession, Stefan Jacoby said today in an interview before the German company held a wall-raising ceremony for its new car plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
"This crisis should be seen as an opportunity," Jacoby said. "Once the economy has recovered, fuel prices will go up again. That's when European carmakers can benefit and grab market share."
Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen is scheduled to complete the Chattanooga plant by 2011 and has increased the planned capacity by 61 percent to as many as 900 cars a day. Volkswagen is targeting growth while General Motors Corp., the U.S.'s biggest carmaker, faces a government-set June 1 deadline to reorganize or file for bankruptcy and third-ranked Chrysler LLC shutters plants for a month while under protection from creditors.
Volkswagen fell 2.01 euros, or 0.9 percent, to 222.49 euros in Frankfurt trading. The stock has declined 11 percent this year, valuing the company at 70.3 billion euros ($95.7 billion).
