VW mulls bigger stake in JV

"Now we're successfully positioning Volkswagen production in all regions in China."

The FAW-Volkswagen plant, with a total investment of 13 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), will initially produce 300,000 cars a year. Capacity will double in the second phase, which will open by 2017.

Juergen Unser, vice-president of FAW Volkswagen, said that the Foshan plant is designed to produce six models under the Volkswagen and Audi brands.

He also said that in the first eight months of this year, FAW Volkswagen's sales exceeded 1 million units in China, with 700,000 units under the Volkswagen brand and 300,000 bearing the Audi brand. The sales milestone was reached two months earlier than last year.

Though growth in China's automobile market has slowed from more than 30 percent in 2009 and 2010 to single-digit levels this year, the country is still a major investment destination for international automakers.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' 16th Annual Global CEO Survey Automotive Summary, China tops the list of countries where vehicle executives expect business to grow this year.

German vehicle manufacturer Daimler AG said last month that it is investing 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in its local joint venture with China's BAIC Motor Group in Beijing, with plans to more than double annual capacity to 200,000 units by 2015.