VW China Seeks Electric-Car Sales as Nissan, GM Add Models

Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, plans to build and sell 10,000 electric cars in China from 2014 to 2018 as rivals add more fuel-efficient vehicles in the world’s biggest automarket.

The German company will produce an electric model at local ventures with SAIC Motor Corp. and FAW Group Corp. as early as 2013 and is considering a battery-powered model specifically designed for the nation in 2018, said Karl-Thomas Neumann, president of Volkswagen Group China, at a conference on electric vehicles in Shenzhen, China yesterday.

Volkswagen, the first overseas automaker to enter the Chinese market three decades ago, joins Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Daimler AG in planning electric vehicles in the country. While local demand for electric cars and hybrids trails other markets, China is offering buyers of plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars subsidies of as much as 60,000 yuan ($9,000) to help cut pollution and reduce oil dependency.

 

For more: VW China Seeks Electric-Car Sales as Nissan, GM Add Models - BusinessWeek