Volkswagen inaugurates new plant in China
Volkswagen has inaugurated a new factory in South China as part of its expansion in the country, which it believes is an important market to drive sales and hence will play a major role in achieving their goal to be the world's largest car manufacturer by 2018.
This plant located in Foshan has an initial production capacity of 3 lakh units. Once the plant reches the second phase of production, the output will be doubled.
Volkswagen had earlier revealed its plans to increase their production in China by around 60 per cent over a period of three years. The German manufacturer's sales registered a growth of around 50 per cent in 2012. It's market share in the passenger vehicle segment increased by three per cent to 22 per cent. VW had also stated in April that its product portfolio will be expanded by 29 per cent in the Asian region in a two-year time period; it means that there will be a total of 90 models on offer from the 70 which are available currently.
"The Foshan branch will offer 6,500 skilled jobs in the first phase, cultivate new talents and improve infrastructure for a more prosperous, more innovative, and more sustainable auto industry in south China," said Jochem Heizmann, the head of Volkswagen in China.
The Foshan plant is a joint-venture between Volkswagen AG and Chinese car manufacturer First Automotive Works. VW has stated that it intends to increase its stake in the JV to 50 per cent from the 40 per cent it currently holds. To achieve its aim of becoming the world's largest car manufacturer by 2018, VW Group has allocated $18.8 billion (approximately Rs 1.2 lakh crore ) towards investments in China.
