Volkswagen rolls out Magotan sedan in China

12 July 2007

European automaker Volkswagen AG has rolled out its mid-ranged Magotan sedan in China, aiming to boost its sales in the world''s second-largest auto market.

Priced at $25,500, the sedan has been made by Volkswagen''s joint venture with Chinese vehicle maker FAW Group.

Foreign automakers are increasingly relying on new models to push sales in the hotly contested and fast-growing market, where car sales jumped 22.26 percent to 3.08 million units in the first six months of this year.

During the period, the maker of Volkswagen and Audi brand cars moved a record 431,369 vehicles in mainland China and Hong Kong, up 24.6 percent from a year earlier.

Volkswagen''s sales for the full year are estimated to grow by 20 percent, a senior company executive told Reuters in April.

To maintain its roughly 17 percent market share in the country, Volkswagen plans to introduce at least a dozen new models by the end of the decade.