WOLFSBURG (Bloomberg) — Volkswagen Group plans to increase production 60 percent by 2018 in China, where the German company’s earnings last year rose by more than 40 percent. Capacity in China will rise to 4 million vehicles a year by 2018 from about 2.5 million currently.

A new plant in China approved by the supervisory board will build as many as 300,000 vehicles yearly and will start operating in early 2016, CEO Martin Winterkorn said today.