FAW Volkswagen, a 50-50 joint venture between China's First Automotive Works and German auto giant Volkswagen AG, plans to manufacture another 500,000 passenger cars over the next three years, according to a high-ranking executive of the company.
Peter Wolters, vice-president of FAW Volkswagen, said the company made the ambitious plan based on an expected consecutive increase in its annual production in coming years
"The plan could be achieved in a shorter period of time, maybe two and half years," Wolters said in an interview with China Daily last Friday.
The plan came after total sales of the joint venture reached 500,000 units over a period of 10 years.
Qin Huanming, president of FAW Volkswagen, said the company's production would continue to focus on A- and C-class passenger cars.
The Changchun-based company, aimed to produce around 171,000 vehicles this year, including 92,000 Jetta, 29,500 Audi A6 and 50,000 newly launched Bora sedans, Qin said.
The company sold 124,000 vehicles last year, an increase of 17 percent over that of 2000, he said.
FAW Volkswagen has announced it will begin to produce the diesel-engine Jetta in March.
The model, which mainly targets taxi companies, will be the first diesel sedan to be made in China.
The company will also start to manufacture the 1.6-litre Bora in June.
By the end of January, sales of the 1.8-litre Bora, which was launched on the market last December, amounted to 4,000 units.
Wolters said FAW Volkswagen had no plans to cut the price of its products in the near future.
"We are committed to upgrading the technical performance of our products, instead of cutting prices, to lure consumers," Wolters said.
FAW Volkswagen is seen as one of the few hard-liners in an ongoing price war currently taking place in the domestic car market.
Many carmakers, such as Shanghai Volkswagen - the other car joint venture of Volkswagen AG in China, Shanghai General Motors and Tianjin Automotive Industry Group, have lowered the prices of their products in a struggle for market shares amid an expected jump in auto imports, as a result of China's sharp tariff cut.
The most aggressive action so far this year has been made by Shanghai General Motors, which devalued its 2.5-litre Buick sedans by 30,000 yuan (US$3,610) on Jauary 31.
On January 1, China decreased its tariffs on auto imports to 43.7-50.7 percent from 70-80 percent, the biggest cut after the nation's entry into the World Trade Organization in December.
(China Daily February 04, 2002)
