VW to double China sales to 2m cars by '18

Shanghai, February 26 (Gasgoo.com) German auto giant Volkswagen AG announced in Beijing today that it plans to double its annual vehicle sales in China to 2 million units by 2018, sina.com said today.

"We are targeting to sell 2 million vehicles [a year] in China by 2018 with the earliest possible timeframe, from the current annual sales of 1 million," said Winfried Vahland, executive vice-president of Volkswagen Group and president and CEO of Volkswagen's China operations, when releasing the company's new strategy.

The German carmaker's Chinese joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen will contribute, equally and respectively, to the annual sales target of 2 million units, said Vahland.

The top European automaker plans to further increase its market share in China, which currently stands at 19%. The number of Volkswagen dealerships in China will also be doubled to 2,000 by 2018.

Volkswagen will also coordinate with Shanghai VW and FAW VW to add four models each year. In addition, Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda will launch more than ten new or updated models in China in 2009 and 2010.

Competing with General Motors and Toyota Motor in the Chinese and global markets, Volkswagen sold 1.02 million vehicles in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau in 2008, up 12.5% from a year earlier.