Volkswagen denies difficulties in South China strategy

Reports are saying that Volkswa gen’s new plant in southern China, which was opened in 2009, has yet to receive governmental approval to begin production. Government regulations concerning the manufacture of independently developed brands and new-energy vehicles by joint ventures could cause delays that will have a major negative impact on Volkswagon's strategy.

Su Weiming, executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China, however, denied in an interview any reported difficulties in pushing forward the South China Strategy. The strategy is going ahead without any interruption, and it just needs time to be communicated and discussed, he said.

As for product planning at the Foshan plant, Su did not disclose any details.

An executive at Volkswagen Group China told a reporter of China Economic Times that the FAW-Volkswagen Foshan plant that had been put on hold for a while now has the requisite regulatory approval.

As for the independently developed brands of Volkswagen’s two joint ventures in China, Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, Su only said “we are still analyzing the matter as it involves several factors including design, production, marketing networks, brand naming and earnings expectation.”