VW's Golf GTI to be China made by March 2010

Shanghai, September 4 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen's Golf GTI is expected to be put into production in China at the FAW-VW joint venture by March next year, xinhuanet.com reported today.

The Golf GTI has been imported to the Chinese market for sale, with both the three-door and five-door models available. Following its recent roll-out of the sixth generation Golf, FAW-VW will produce the Golf GTI soon, which is likely to carry the locally made 2.0TSI engine and six-speed DSG gearbox.

Recently a Chinese made Golf GTI was spotted in China for road testing with FAW-VW writing on the back, giving some hot hatch fans in the country a glimpse of what might be coming out of the car venture early next year.

The new Golf GTI has been an expensive import for Chinese consumers. A Chinese made Golf GTI is expected to be priced around a more reasonable 230,000 yuan ($33,700), compared to the current import price of over 400,000 yuan.

FAW-VW stopped producing the previous Golf hatchback model at the end of last year as the new model was imported to the Chinese market. The sixth-gen Golf made by FAW-VW will go on sale next month, priced up to 180,000 yuan.

As China is surpassing the United States as the world's largest auto market this year, many global car companies are rushing to launch their new models in the Chinese market where auto sales are still running hot.