On June 10, Volkswagen Group held a press conference in the Asia Pacific region in Beijing to announce that Volkswagen will become the only partner in the global automotive industry in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. At the conference, Wei Zhibo, vice president of the Volkswagen Group and general manager of China Affairs, introduced that this year, Volkswagen will further expand its product range and produce Touran multi-purpose vehicles. Next year, a city commercial vehicle and the new Audi A6 will be put into operation. He said that in the next 5 to 10 years, Volkswagen predicts that China's gross domestic product will maintain an average growth rate of 7.5%, and the auto market will continue to develop at a rapid rate. By 2014, the annual sales of passenger vehicles in China will reach 8.5 million. Wei Zhibo said that the Chinese car market will have an increase of about 18% this year compared with last year. He hopes that Volkswagen’s sales volume can maintain the same growth rate. However, this goal is obviously not easy for the public, because in the first five months of this year, Volkswagen's sales in China increased by only 3%. Wei Zhibo explained this because the capacity of the two joint ventures reached the limit. At the meeting, a foreign reporter asked that the chairman of the Volkswagen Group, Bi Ruide, once stated that taking POLO to China for production is not a correct decision. Wei Zhibo explained that POLO is a global best-selling car in the Volkswagen Group. However, its advantages may not yet be fully recognized and accepted by Chinese consumers. If one or two years are passed, the situation will change. Some reporters also asked about the possibility of Volkswagen's production of Skoda Ouya cars in China. Wei Zhibo said that Volkswagen is currently studying the feasibility of taking its other brand models to China for production, including Skoda. Volkswagen has also discussed possible models with two partners, and Ouya is indeed a possible choice. But everything is not finalized. At the meeting, Pan Shi, the Vice President of Finance of the Volkswagen Group, also denied that “80 percent of the profits of the public came from China last year.†He said that according to the company's financial statements, profits from the Chinese business last year accounted for 20% of the total profit of the Volkswagen Group. He added that China is the most important market for the general public regardless of whether it is 20% or 80%. Source: Guangzhou Daily 2004-06-14 17:24 Editor: Chen Jing
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