According to overseas media reports, at present, the German car manufacturer Volkswagen is considering producing Skoda brand cars and heavy trucks in China. This is the first time that Volkswagen has considered doing so, because the company is trying to preserve its leading position in this fastest growing global market. The above measures will import a low-cost, large-scale automobile SkodaOctavia to Volkswagen's Chinese business, and add a third brand to the Volkswagen and Audi brand cars. Volkswagen is currently negotiating with Chinese partners on the production of heavy trucks. The move will also mark the first time that Western automakers are trying to compete directly with locally produced cheap trucks. At present, Swedish Volvo and other suppliers sell the most advanced high-end trucks in the Chinese market. Volkswagen's Chief Executive Officer Peter Biede said that the introduction of the Skoda Ouya brand, whether it be the Skoda brand or the public brand, will help offset the disappointing sales of the Volkswagen Polo. “Quite frankly, launching Polo in China was a completely wrong decision,†he said in an interview. “The market wants a simple large car, and Polo is a complex small car. With the addition of new competitors headed by General Motors, Toyota and Honda, and significant investments in the Chinese automotive industry, Volkswagen’s market share in China continues to decline. The poor market performance of Polo further deteriorated the situation of the public. The sales volume of this car only reached two-thirds of the planned level. Mr. Bi Ruide said that the company wants to maintain a market share of about 30%, but not at the expense of profits. According to the "Automotive Industry Information" information, so far this year, the general public has a market share of 26.4%. He also insists that although the public will invest 6 billion euros (7.4 billion US dollars) to double capacity before 2007, there will be no risk of excess capacity. "We want to maintain a 30% market share, but if this cannot be achieved, then we would rather maintain our profitability," he said. He said that “the slowdown in the annual growth rate of China’s auto sales last month may be attributed to consumers’ desire to lower prices, rather than to a slower growth cycle. Last month, China’s auto sales growth rate was from the top four. The 45% of the month has dropped to about 15% to 20%." Editing Source: International Finance News
Volkswagen will push low-priced cars to secure a 30% share of the Chinese market
According to overseas media reports, at present, the German car manufacturer Volkswagen is considering producing Skoda brand cars and heavy trucks in China. This is the first time that Volkswagen has considered doing so, because the company is trying to preserve its leading position in this fastest growing global market. The above measures will import a low-cost, large-scale automobile SkodaOctavia to Volkswagen's Chinese business, and add a third brand to the Volkswagen and Audi brand cars. Volkswagen is currently negotiating with Chinese partners on the production of heavy trucks. The move will also mark the first time that Western automakers are trying to compete directly with locally produced cheap trucks. At present, Swedish Volvo and other suppliers sell the most advanced high-end trucks in the Chinese market. Volkswagen's Chief Executive Officer Peter Biede said that the introduction of the Skoda Ouya brand, whether it be the Skoda brand or the public brand, will help offset the disappointing sales of the Volkswagen Polo. “Quite frankly, launching Polo in China was a completely wrong decision,†he said in an interview. “The market wants a simple large car, and Polo is a complex small car. With the addition of new competitors headed by General Motors, Toyota and Honda, and significant investments in the Chinese automotive industry, Volkswagen’s market share in China continues to decline. The poor market performance of Polo further deteriorated the situation of the public. The sales volume of this car only reached two-thirds of the planned level. Mr. Bi Ruide said that the company wants to maintain a market share of about 30%, but not at the expense of profits. According to the "Automotive Industry Information" information, so far this year, the general public has a market share of 26.4%. He also insists that although the public will invest 6 billion euros (7.4 billion US dollars) to double capacity before 2007, there will be no risk of excess capacity. "We want to maintain a 30% market share, but if this cannot be achieved, then we would rather maintain our profitability," he said. He said that “the slowdown in the annual growth rate of China’s auto sales last month may be attributed to consumers’ desire to lower prices, rather than to a slower growth cycle. Last month, China’s auto sales growth rate was from the top four. The 45% of the month has dropped to about 15% to 20%." Editing Source: International Finance News