Upon the latest development strategy, Volkswagen will commit itself to raising its say in the southern Chinese automobile market by 2018, rivaling the Japanese counterparts that have been entrenched in south China for a long time.
From now on, the German carmaker will further extend reaches to Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan, six provinces and autonomous regions in south China, via the upgrade of sales and marketing, customer and service, product and technology, as well as contribution to the regional economy.
The group aims to sell more than 500,000 vehicles under its three pillar brands, including the Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda, per year by 2018, compared with the current 150,000 units. And the proportion of its sales volume to the total in south China will be lifted to the average level around the country.
Besides the Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda, the automobile giant will achieve its sales goal through another two brands, the Bentley and Lamborghini. In the three years to come, Volkswagen is set to launch 20 new or upgraded car models in south China, and most of them are customized for the local consumers.
For long, the German carmakers that are represented by Volkswagen cannot catch up with their rivals from Japan in south China. Last year, Dr. Winfried Vahland, head of Volkswagen Group China, announced Volkswagen's plan to build up its presence in this market, but the performance was not improved to a great extent.
In the first half of 2009, its two joint ventures in China, FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. accounted for not more than 5% of the whole auto market in south China, respectively.
As one of the leaders in the medium- and high-end automobile market, the Audi brand represents only 30% of total auto sales in south China, around 10 percentage points lower than the nation's average.
Volkswagen, which makes up for 19% of the whole Chinese automotive market, intends to almost double its distribution network here within the following one year. Total numbers of the Volkswagen-, Audi-, and Skoda-branded distributors will be separately added up to 1,500, 200, and 300.
In particular, the group has raised the curtain on its Audi brand layout. The Audi selected the Xinsha Port, Guangzhou City, as its first import platform in south China, on November 18, 2009, for the sake of more convenient transportation.
