FAW-VW joint venture sees 3 millionth sedan roll off production line in China

The FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co. Ltd., a joint venture between China First Automotive Works Group Corporation and its German partner Volkswagen AG, saw its 3 millionth sedan roll off the production line Friday.

Winfried Vahland, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, hailed the 3 millionth sedan, a Golf A6 SOP, as "another milestone" in the 18-year cooperation between Volkswagen and FAW.

Since 1991, the joint venture, based in northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, has built Jetta, Golf, Bora, Sagitar and Magotan models for the Chinese market, as well as Audi A4 and A6 cars.

It manufactured 1 millionth car in 2004 and 2 millionth in 2007.

"The production of the 3 millionth sedan marks a new level in our cooperation and is bound to have positive impact on the stable development of the Chinese auto industry," said Xu Jianyi, general manager of China FAW Group Corporation.

"I hope FAW-Volkswagen can achieve its goal of manufacturing 1 million sedans a year at an early date," he said.

The joint venture sold a total of 513,000 units of vehicles last year, indicating a growth of 12.6 percent year-on-year. In the first half of this year, it sold 326,000 units, up 21 percent from a year earlier, according to the company data.

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