The Volkswagen Group is launching a major electro-mobility campaign in China—the the biggest initiative for e-mobility in China’s automotive history, said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG, on the eve of the Auto China motor show in Beijing. The initiative gets underway with the launch this year of the Volkswagen brand’s battery-electric e-up! and e-Golf models.
Peugeot, Citroen and Renault last year combined to sell fewer than 600,000 vehicles in China — a tiny total in a market where Volkswagen Group and General Motors each sold more than 3 million units.
But PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is racing to introduce new products while Renault prepares to start local production. Soon, the French automakers will become forces to be reckoned with in China.
Ford said Thursday it will sell high-end Lincoln cars in China for the first time later this year when it opens eight dealerships in seven cities.
The crossover will be positioned below the mid-sized RX that Lexus introduced more than 15 years ago and will compete with BMW’s X1, Audi’s Q3 and Mercedes-Benz’s GLA.
General Motors and its joint ventures posted record sales in China during March and the first quarter of 2014. Sales in March increased 7.8% on an annual basis to 313,283 units. This helped domestic sales in the first quarter reach 919,114 units—an increase of 12.6% from the year-ago period.GM’s 2014 sales in China are on track to hit 1 million units by mid-April.
