BEIJING - Both
Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Co have reported
robust growth in China sales in the first three
quarters of this year.
Volkswagen said in
a statement that it sold 524,558 cars in China in
the first three quarters, jumping 28.7% from a
year ago. The strong sales meant the German car
maker took a 17.5% share of China's passenger-car
market, slightly more than last year, it said.
"We can state already that we will achieve
all three targets of our
Olympic Restructuring Program
for this year" in China, said Winfried Vahland,
executive vice president of Volkswagen Group and
president of Volkswagen Group China. The three
targets are a stabilized market share, better
sales than in 2005, and positive financial
results, noted Vahland.
Ford said combined
sales of its wholly owned brands, Ford, Lincoln,
Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover, rocketed by 105.5%
year on year to 114,685 units from January to
September this year.
Cheng Meiwei, vice
president of Ford and chairman of Ford Motor
China, said: "Ford Motor Co is poised for an
exciting full-year performance in 2006 in China
and is ready to continue its rapid growth in
2007."
Other major global car makers, such
as General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and PSA
Peugeot Citroen, have not yet revealed their China
sales figures for the first nine months of this
year.
Volkswagen said China sales of the
Volkswagen brand division, including its Czech arm
Skoda, grew by one-quarter to 464,589 units in the
period. Meanwhile, its luxury brand Audi sold
59,883 cars in China, up from 36,086 units in the
first three quarters of 2005.
Volkswagen
now runs two joint ventures in China, with
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) and First
Automotive Works Corp (FAW), the nation's top two
vehicle manufacturers.
The venture with
SAIC makes Volkswagen Santana, Passat, Polo, Gol
and Touran cars, and will start to produce Skoda
cars next year. FAW Volkswagen's current lineup
includes the Jetta, Golf, Sagitar, Bora and Caddy
as well as the Audi A6 and A4.
Ford said
China sales under the Ford brand, for passenger
cars and commercial vehicles locally produced and
imported, surged by 111% to 106,237 units in the
first three quarters of this year.
The
Detroit-based auto maker also has two joint
ventures with Chang'an Motor Corp, China's No 4
vehicle producer, and Jiangling Motor Corp, a
smaller company.
Chang'an Ford is
producing the Mondeo, Focus and Fiesta models and
the Volvo S40. The venture with Jiangling makes
the Transit commercial vehicle.
Ford is
also building a new car plant in eastern China
with its Japanese affiliate, Mazda Motor, and
Chang'an. The new plant will start assembling Ford
and Mazda vehicles next year.
