VW aims to be No. 1 car brand in Macau and HK

German car maker Volkswagen Group said yesterday it aims to be the best-selling car brand in Hong Kong and Macau by 2012, taking on Japanese giants Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Corp.

The biggest European car maker plans to lift Volkswagen market share in Hong Kong and Macau to 16 percent in the next three years from 9.4 percent in the first eight months this year.

The growth will came from diversified models, additional service centers and flagship showrooms in both markets, due to open later this year, according to a company statement yesterday.

"The matured Hong Kong and Macau markets generate high demand for mid-to-high class vehicles," said Yale Zhang, director of automotive division from consulting firm CSM Asia Corp in Shanghai.

"A bigger market share would be helpful for boosting Volkswagen's revenue and profits."

CSM said an average of 40,000 vehicles are sold in Hong Kong a year. Luxury cars including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi account for a combined 30 percent.

Volkswagen is the fifth-largest brand in Hong Kong, with sales increasing 3.7 percent to 1,151 units for the first eight months this year. But it still lags behind Toyota and Honda.

The announcement came three days after the German car maker said it would invest 4 billion euros (US$5.8 billion) in mainland China.

As one of the first foreign car makers in China, Volkswagen said it hoped to keep its leading position as it faces growing competition from General Motors and Toyota.

The additional investment in China will be used to increase production at factories in Nanjing and Chengdu as well as to launch five models beginning in 2012.