Volkswagen Group boosts activities in China

FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd. Changchun,Jilin Province,P.R.of China

WOLFSBURG/BEIJING : September 11, 2009 - The Volkswagen Group is set to continue its growth in China over the next few years. Between 2009 and 2011, the Group is to invest a total of four billion euros in new products and the expansion of production capacities in China. The investments are to be financed from the cash flow of the Chinese joint venture companies. At the Nanjing and Chengdu plants, production is to be boosted to between 300,000 and 350,000 units in each case by 2012. These investment plans were approved today by the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.


"For the Volkswagen Group, China is one of the most important markets in the world We are already well-positioned there with a broad product portfolio," said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. "Demand for our models is growing so dramatically that our capacities in China are no longer sufficient. Our investment decision has laid the foundations for continuing the Group's success in China in the future," Winterkorn added.

"In China, we will see clear double-digit growth in 2009 and expect to remain the market leader in the future. Volkswagen Group China is well on the way to reaching the target of doubling sales to two million vehicles laid down in our Strategy 2018 earlier than planned," commented Dr. Winfried Vahland, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.

The planned investment of a total of 1.3 billion euros in new products and capacity expansion at Nanjing and Chengdu will include additional production facilities with body, paint and assembly shops. From 2012, three new models are set to leave the production lines at Nanjing and two at Chengdu.

The Volkswagen Group has long been the market leader in China and offers its customers the broadest product portfolio of any automaker. This year, three new models have already been launched on the Chinese market, the Volkswagen Golf, the Volkswagen Passat New Lingyu and the Škoda Superb. The product offensive is to receive a further boost from the introduction of highly advanced Group technologies such as the 7-speed DSG or economical TSI engines on the Chinese market.

Currently, models manufactured by the Volkswagen Group in China include the Volkswagen Polo, Lavida, Santana, Santana Vista, Passat New Lingyu, Touran, Golf, New Bora, Jetta, Sagitar and Magotan, as well as the Škoda Fabia, Octavia and Superb and the Audi A4L and A6L.

The monetary and fiscal measures taken by the government have provided positive impetus for the Chinese automobile industry. In China, deliveries by the Group rose to 652,222 units (2008: 531,612 units; +22.7 percent) in the first half of 2009.

[Source : VOLKSWAGEN]