VW brand's China sales rise 29% in August
The Volkswagen brand sold 180,000 passenger vehicles in China in August, up nearly 29 percent from a year earlier, as the German marque continued to outperform the industry as a whole.
In August, industry sales of passenger vehicles in China rose 11 percent.
For the first eight months, the VW brand sold more than 1.1 million vehicles, up 15 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Audi AG reported China sales of 34,800 units in August, up 24 percent over the year-earlier period. Sales got a boost from the SUV models that Audi has added to its China lineup. The Q3 went on sale in China last month.
For the first eight months, Audi sales rose 33 percent to 261,548 units. This year, VW's luxury brand has maintained a comfortable sales lead over rivals BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz.
At the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, Volkswagen AG Chairman Ferdinand Piech said the company's sales in China will grow at least 9 percent in 2013 after expanding a projected 10 percent or more this year.
"The growth is tremendous," Piech said in an interview. "You have so many people without cars and we expect a few buyers for our products."
VW said in June that it plans to increase production capacity in China to 4 million vehicles by 2018 to cater to demand. Piech said the current planned investment is sufficient at this point.
China's passenger-vehicle deliveries trailed analysts' estimates for a second month in August as consumers held off purchases in anticipation of more discounts. In the first eight months, deliveries rose 8 percent to 10.0 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
VW's deliveries in the greater China region climbed 17 percent last year to 2.3 million vehicles. The automaker trailed General Motors, whose sales in China -- including Wuling minivans -- rose 8.3 percent to 2.6 million units in 2011.
Jochem Heizmann assumed his appointment on Sept. 1 as VW's board member in charge of China.
Piech said the automaker isn't suffering in Europe, where pricing pressure in the region will continue and some carmakers will "disappear."
For the first eight months, the VW brand sold more than 1.1 million vehicles, up 15 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Audi AG reported China sales of 34,800 units in August, up 24 percent over the year-earlier period. Sales got a boost from the SUV models that Audi has added to its China lineup. The Q3 went on sale in China last month.
For the first eight months, Audi sales rose 33 percent to 261,548 units. This year, VW's luxury brand has maintained a comfortable sales lead over rivals BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz.
At the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, Volkswagen AG Chairman Ferdinand Piech said the company's sales in China will grow at least 9 percent in 2013 after expanding a projected 10 percent or more this year.
"The growth is tremendous," Piech said in an interview. "You have so many people without cars and we expect a few buyers for our products."
VW said in June that it plans to increase production capacity in China to 4 million vehicles by 2018 to cater to demand. Piech said the current planned investment is sufficient at this point.
China's passenger-vehicle deliveries trailed analysts' estimates for a second month in August as consumers held off purchases in anticipation of more discounts. In the first eight months, deliveries rose 8 percent to 10.0 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
VW's deliveries in the greater China region climbed 17 percent last year to 2.3 million vehicles. The automaker trailed General Motors, whose sales in China -- including Wuling minivans -- rose 8.3 percent to 2.6 million units in 2011.
Jochem Heizmann assumed his appointment on Sept. 1 as VW's board member in charge of China.
Piech said the automaker isn't suffering in Europe, where pricing pressure in the region will continue and some carmakers will "disappear."
