VW brand sales advance 22% in May
Sales of Volkswagen brand models in China jumped 22 percent year-on-year in May to 166,000 units, nearly keeping pace with industry volume in the world's largest car market.
Last month, industry sales rose 23 percent year-on-year as automakers appeared to recover from a slow start early this year.
For the first five months, Volkswagen brand sales rose nearly 15 percent to 819,300 units.
Volkswagen is China's top-selling brand, and China is Volkswagen's biggest global market. The German automaker is spending aggressively to maintain its growth.
Other VW brands also showed gains. Last month, Skoda deliveries in China grew 13 percent year-on-year to 21,000 units. The Czech automaker's top-selling model was the Octavia, with sales up 29 percent to 13,500 units.
China is now the Czech automaker's largest market.
Audi AG also had a big month in China. VW's luxury brand, which sells "stretched" versions of its A4 and A6 sedans in China, boosted sales in China 44 percent to 36,278 vehicles in May.
To maintain momentum, Volkswagen Group plans to raise its annual production capacity in the country to 4 million vehicles," Jochem Heizmann, the new chief of VW China, said in a recent interview with the German weekly magazine Focus.
Volkswagen's two joint ventures with FAW and Shanghai Automotive boosted their output by 15 percent to 2.2 million vehicles last year.
Volkswagen is expanding its existing plants in Changchun, Nanjing and Chengdu, as well as building new ones in Yizheng, Foshan and Ningbo.
In April, Volkswagen said it would also invest 170 million euros to build a new assembly plant in Urumqi, a city in western China.
For the first five months, Volkswagen brand sales rose nearly 15 percent to 819,300 units.
Volkswagen is China's top-selling brand, and China is Volkswagen's biggest global market. The German automaker is spending aggressively to maintain its growth.
Other VW brands also showed gains. Last month, Skoda deliveries in China grew 13 percent year-on-year to 21,000 units. The Czech automaker's top-selling model was the Octavia, with sales up 29 percent to 13,500 units.
China is now the Czech automaker's largest market.
Audi AG also had a big month in China. VW's luxury brand, which sells "stretched" versions of its A4 and A6 sedans in China, boosted sales in China 44 percent to 36,278 vehicles in May.
To maintain momentum, Volkswagen Group plans to raise its annual production capacity in the country to 4 million vehicles," Jochem Heizmann, the new chief of VW China, said in a recent interview with the German weekly magazine Focus.
Volkswagen's two joint ventures with FAW and Shanghai Automotive boosted their output by 15 percent to 2.2 million vehicles last year.
Volkswagen is expanding its existing plants in Changchun, Nanjing and Chengdu, as well as building new ones in Yizheng, Foshan and Ningbo.
In April, Volkswagen said it would also invest 170 million euros to build a new assembly plant in Urumqi, a city in western China.
