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