Shanghai VW targets sustained growth in China
April 26, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FOUNDED in 1985, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co has been one of the most successful Sino-German joint ventures in China.
At the Auto Shanghai 2011 show, the company has made an impressive presence with the complete product offering under its VW and Skoda brands.
What caught most of the attention was the global debut of New Passat and the Asian debut of the first Skoda Octavia Green E Line concept model, in addition to the Lavida electric car.
That clearly indicates the car maker's efforts to continuously strengthen its leading position on the Chinese market while delivering the strength and confidence in fuel-efficient, low-emission new-energy vehicles.
However, Chinese market is also full of challenges this year with slower sales growth as well as industrial restructure aiming to further improve technology innovation and green mobility.
Joern Hasenfuss, SVW's deputy managing director and commercial executive director, talked to Shanghai Daily during the Shanghai auto show, expressing his expectations for China's auto market as well as the car maker's future strategy.
The New Passat was launched in Shanghai recently. What is the significance of New Passat for Shanghai Volkswagen?
As a cooperative masterpiece of Shanghai Volkswagen and the Volkswagen Group, this marks the better integration of Shanghai Volkswagen's R&D capability and Volkswagen Group's development system, which means the innovation competence of SVW has reached a new level.
How was the market performance of SVW in the first quarter of this year?
In the first three months, SVW's sales under the VW brand totaled 212,751 units in China, an increase of 26.3 percent year on year. The volume made SVW continue to be the champion in terms of single-brand sales.
The sales volume of cars under SVW's Skoda brand hit 47,417, up 11 percent year on year, contributing to the dual-brand strategy in a steady way.
What do you think of the whole auto industry in 2011, and what areas, in your opinion, are going to help SVW sustain the growth?
In 2011, the macro-environment in China is better than last year. However, the Chinese auto market tends to more stable growth instead of a massive surge.
The central and western regions will become the focus of the next stage because of favorable government policies.
Correspondingly, SVW has laid its focus on building sales networks in these areas, especially in the second and third tier cities.
The recent Japanese earthquake has impacted the international auto industry and caused public concerns over supply of components and parts. Has SVW been affected? How will SVW ensure components and parts supply?
Up to now, we have created successful solutions. We has formed a comprehensive parts supplier system over the past 20 years. We proactively push components and parts suppliers to localize products in order to avoid influence of the external environmental factors.
Our strict quality control mechanism and parts supplier system not only ensure a timely delivery but also provide products that meet the international quality standards.
How can SVW keep balance between developing vehicle consumption aggressively and sustainably? As an automobile manufacturer, how does SVW answer the call of green consumption?
Nowadays, a successful enterprise will not only provide the society with quality products, but also contribute to the environment conservation for human beings.
As a manufacturer, on one hand, we improve the quality of products. On the other hand, we insist on "green production" to reduce the environmental burden effectively, from design, production to consumption.
At the Auto Shanghai 2011 show, the company has made an impressive presence with the complete product offering under its VW and Skoda brands.
What caught most of the attention was the global debut of New Passat and the Asian debut of the first Skoda Octavia Green E Line concept model, in addition to the Lavida electric car.
That clearly indicates the car maker's efforts to continuously strengthen its leading position on the Chinese market while delivering the strength and confidence in fuel-efficient, low-emission new-energy vehicles.
However, Chinese market is also full of challenges this year with slower sales growth as well as industrial restructure aiming to further improve technology innovation and green mobility.
Joern Hasenfuss, SVW's deputy managing director and commercial executive director, talked to Shanghai Daily during the Shanghai auto show, expressing his expectations for China's auto market as well as the car maker's future strategy.
The New Passat was launched in Shanghai recently. What is the significance of New Passat for Shanghai Volkswagen?
As a cooperative masterpiece of Shanghai Volkswagen and the Volkswagen Group, this marks the better integration of Shanghai Volkswagen's R&D capability and Volkswagen Group's development system, which means the innovation competence of SVW has reached a new level.
How was the market performance of SVW in the first quarter of this year?
In the first three months, SVW's sales under the VW brand totaled 212,751 units in China, an increase of 26.3 percent year on year. The volume made SVW continue to be the champion in terms of single-brand sales.
The sales volume of cars under SVW's Skoda brand hit 47,417, up 11 percent year on year, contributing to the dual-brand strategy in a steady way.
What do you think of the whole auto industry in 2011, and what areas, in your opinion, are going to help SVW sustain the growth?
In 2011, the macro-environment in China is better than last year. However, the Chinese auto market tends to more stable growth instead of a massive surge.
The central and western regions will become the focus of the next stage because of favorable government policies.
Correspondingly, SVW has laid its focus on building sales networks in these areas, especially in the second and third tier cities.
The recent Japanese earthquake has impacted the international auto industry and caused public concerns over supply of components and parts. Has SVW been affected? How will SVW ensure components and parts supply?
Up to now, we have created successful solutions. We has formed a comprehensive parts supplier system over the past 20 years. We proactively push components and parts suppliers to localize products in order to avoid influence of the external environmental factors.
Our strict quality control mechanism and parts supplier system not only ensure a timely delivery but also provide products that meet the international quality standards.
How can SVW keep balance between developing vehicle consumption aggressively and sustainably? As an automobile manufacturer, how does SVW answer the call of green consumption?
Nowadays, a successful enterprise will not only provide the society with quality products, but also contribute to the environment conservation for human beings.
As a manufacturer, on one hand, we improve the quality of products. On the other hand, we insist on "green production" to reduce the environmental burden effectively, from design, production to consumption.
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