Volkswagen sells record 202,600 vehicles in Q1 in China



Sales of Volkswagen vehicles rose 23 percent to a record 202,600 units
in China in the first quarter this year, said sources with Volkswagen China
on Friday.

It was the first time that quarterly sales of Volkswagen vehicles
exceeded 200,000 units in the country.

Vehicles with the Volkswagen brand grew 22.5 percent to 178,000 units
in the first three months, 1,483 of which were imported.

The Audi, Volkswagen's luxury brand, saw sales soar 27 percent to
24,300 units, including 1,749 that were imported.

Winfried Vahland, chief executive officer of Volkswagen China, said
Volkswagen would launch a number of new models on the Chinese market this
year to ensure a stable growth in sales and profits.

China was Volkswagen's fastest growing market last year with annual
sales soaring 24.3 percent to 711,000 units.

The German automaker became the first multinational firm to
manufacture in China in 1985 when Shanghai Volkswagen was established as
China's first joint venture automaker.

The Shanghai-based company had the second best sales record with
352,000 units sold last year. The Jilin-based FAW Volkswagen sold 350,000
vehicles last year giving it third place in overall sales of passenger cars
in China.

Shanghai-GM led all carmakers with sales of 400,000 vehicles.

Source: Xinhua

Didn't a Chinese official say he wants to develop a "car culture" in China
That's not going to work too well. Or if it does, oil will be 100 - 150 USD
a barrel by then, not very pleasant.

--
Jem Berkes
www.sysdesign.ca

On Apr 16, 5:09 pm, Jem Berkes <j... (AT) users (DOT) pc9.org> wrote:
Just keep in mind that if China used as much oil per capita as the
United States, they would consume some 132% of the total oil
available. India would consume some 103%. The entire ANWAR "reserve"
if exploited to 100% of its available capacity would supply the US at
present consumption levels approximately 19 months best-case, 9.25
months worst-case. In fact, it would pump for some 8 years +/-4 years,
but the total that could be extracted ain't much. And once it's gone,
it's gone.

Personally, I think using petroleum products for vehicle fuel is just
plain nuts given the need for feedstocks for very critical products,
plastics and fertilizers not being the least of them. But the American
life-style and infra-structure is hostile to practical public
transportation except in dense urban areas... And that is not likely
to change short of $40/gallon gasoline.

Add to this the preponderance of McMansions springing up like
toadstools and the energy consumption curve in the US (North America,
actually) isn't going to flatten any time soon. No matter how it is
sliced and diced, a 6000-square foot single house with cathedral
ceilings and 30 large windows is going to reach the limits of energy
efficiency a whole lot faster than a 2200 square-foot row house with
14 windows and 9-foot ceilings.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

LOL there isn't that much oil available anyway. Anyway, the market forces
of commodity extinction will force us out of oil on its own.

--
Jem Berkes
www.sysdesign.ca

"Jem Berkes" <jb (AT) users (DOT) pc9.org> wrote