THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2004
China becomes largest market for Volkswagen
PTI
BEIJING : China has become the largest market for Volkswagen with the German auto giant selling more cars in the Communist nation in 2003 than in Germany , the company has said.
This is the first time the top German car maker has sold more in a foreign country than in its own domestic market.
Taking advantage of the world's fastest-growing car market, Volkswagen sold a total 697,961 VWS and Audis in China in 2003, which represented a 36 per cent increase from 2002.
By contrast, in the domestic market of Germany which was affected by a continued economic stagnation, Volkswagen sold 519,500 vehicles, including 237,786 audis, last year, the company said.
Volkswagen has been the leading car producer in China since the 1980s. To defend its market share in China , Volkswagen last year announced an additional investment of $1 billion here, Xinhua news agency said.
China registered more than 96 million automotive vehicles in 2003, up 21 per cent year-on-year, according to statistics released by the Chinese ministry of public security.
This includes 24 million autos and 59 million motorcycles, a rise of 13 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively over the previous year.
China also reported 12 million private cars in 2003, an increase of 24.8 per cent over 2002.
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