VW car sales in China rises 28% Jan-Apr to 368,000 units

Volkswagen AG, the second-largest overseas vehicle maker in China, boosted sales in the country 28 percent in the first four months of the year, as demand for the new Santana helped it outpace the overall market.

The company sold 368,000 cars in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, in the January-April period, Winfried Vahland, Volkswagen's China head, said in an interview in Hong Kong today. Full-year sales will probably top 1 million, he reiterated.

The Santana Vista, a version of China's bestselling car, has helped VW win customers from General Motors Corp., the country's largest overseas vehicle maker. China's overall car sales have slowed on accelerating inflation and a falling stock market.

Last week's earthquake disrupted production at a plant in Chengdu city that began making Volkswagen Jetta cars last year. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan, the province most affected by the quake.

``It really hurts us,'' Vahland said, without elaboration. The factory, run through a venture with China FAW Group Corp., can make as many as 24,000 cars a year.

Volkswagen has boosted capacity in China because of rising sales. Its venture with SAIC Motor Corp. took over a former Fiat SpA plant in Nanjing last month with an initial annual capacity of 60,000 cars.

China's full-year car sales are likely to rise as much as 20 percent, Vahland said. Sales rose 18 percent in the first four months. In April, the tally climbed 11 percent, the slowest pace in at least a year, amid inflation near an 11-year high.

In the first quarter, China surpassed Germany as Volkswagen's biggest market. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based carmaker sold 268,204 vehicles in China in the period, compared with 240,654 in its domestic market.

China may surpass the U.S. as the world's largest car market before 2015, with sales likely to top 11 million in 2014, Vahland said in April.