| China View reports Sino-German car venture | | | | strategy and will expand their lineup to meet |
| Shanghai Volkswagen Automobile Co is seeing | | | | increasing customer demand. |
| Skoda, its newly launched Czech brand, to | | | | |
| help it lift sales in the middle of heated | | | | The venture, which makes Volkswagen's |
| competition in the second-biggest vehicle | | | | Santana, Passat, Polo, Gol and Touran, plans |
| market in the world. | | | | to present a new Skoda model yearly in the |
| | | | coming years, including the subcompact Fabia |
| The report says the 50-50 joint venture of | | | | and mid-range Superb. |
| SAIC Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG told China | | | | |
| Daily that it is expecting Skoda, wholly | | | | The company emphasized Skoda cars would not |
| owned by the German carmaker, to get 2.5-3 | | | | go head-to-head with Volkswagen models as the |
| percent of China's passenger car market by | | | | Czech brand has its own market position. This |
| 2010. | | | | is in attempt to cast out the issue on |
| | | | Skoda's cannibalization of Volkswagen brand |
| Although the venture did not tell how many | | | | sales in China. |
| Skoda cars it expects to sell by then, | | | | |
| analysts said that it is a brave plan because | | | | The venture said Skoda targets buyers who are |
| the Czech brand is a new entrant in China. | | | | "intelligent, steady-going and have a taste |
| | | | for life and inner-strength", like the |
| Shanghai Volkswagen claimed that it aims to | | | | lawyers, doctors, teachers, senior civil |
| sell more than 30,000 Skoda Octavia compact | | | | servants, and other professionals. |
| sedans this year. This is in lieu of its | | | | |
| desire to move a total of more than 400,000 | | | | The firm claimed at the end of this year it |
| cars, up from 352,000 units last year. The | | | | will have 110 Skoda dealerships, up from 80 |
| Octavia, Skoda's first China-made model, | | | | now. |
| started its sale on June 6. | | | | |
| | | | Winfried Vahland, CEO of Volkswagen Group |
| The venture's sales for January through June | | | | China, said last September that he expected |
| were increased by 23.1 percent to 213,735 | | | | Skoda to be a new foundation along with the |
| units. These included 3,000 Octavias, ranking | | | | Volkswagen and Audi brands to strongly |
| it as the No. 3 passenger car producer all | | | | establish the German group's leadership in |
| over China after Volkswagen's other | | | | China's car market. |
| association with FAW Corp and General Motors' | | | | |
| emprise with SAIC. | | | | The group's China sales hiked by 24.6 percent |
| | | | to 431,369 cars during the first half of the |
| The director of Greater China Vehicle | | | | year. |
| Forecasts for US consultancy CSM Worldwide | | | | |
| (Shanghai) Corp by the name of Yale Zhang | | | | Based on industry data, sales of China-made |
| predicted that passenger car sales in China, | | | | passenger cars are 2.55 million units in the |
| which is comprised by sedans, sport utility | | | | same period, up 26 percent. |
| vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles, will | | | | |
| increase to 7.2 million units in 2010 from 5 | | | | The German carmaker's emprise with FAW is |
| million that is expected to be sold this | | | | producing Volkswagen and Audi vehicles. |
| year. | | | | |
| | | | Volkswagen is also the maker of quality |
| Shanghai Volkswagen said the launch of Skoda | | | | Volkswagen Rabbit parts. |
| is the beginning of their multi-brand | | | | |