The FINANCIAL — Volkswagen Group China on January 10 announced year-end results for2016: together with its two Chinese Joint Ventures, SAIC VOLKSWAGEN and FAW-Volkswagen, the Group delivered 3.98 (3.55; +12.2 percent) million vehicles to customersin the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, including about 178,700 imported vehicles.
“Our deliveries in 2016 set a record with particular success in the most relevant segments. But it is worth re-emphasizing we are not focused solely on numbers. This result shows we are meeting our main goal of exciting and satisfying our customers and laying a strong foundation for the transformation from a car manufacturer to a provider of sustainable mobility solutions,” said Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft as well as President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.
“The growth in 2016 exceeded our expectations and long term planning. In 2017 we continue tosee good growth potential in a very substantial market, for which we will deliver products tailormade for the China market,” Heizmann added. “Customers appreciate our brand values: quality, reliability, residual value, trendsetting technology. Our course for the future is set by our TOGETHER – Strategy 2025. Through this we are transforming our business, creating newmobility services, building on our long history of innovation and sustaining our value-adding growth. This is our commitment to China.”
The Volkswagen brand performed strongly to maintain its leading position in the Chinesepassenger car market, with 2016 deliveries of almost 3.00 (2.63; +14.0 percent) million units. A number of new models targeted at the specific needs of Chinese consumers along with the ongoing popularity of the brand’s core models underpinned the result, with Lavida, Jetta, Sagitarand Santana models all maintaining their place among the Top 10 sellers in the China market.
Audi remained the most popular brand in China’s premium segment, with deliveries of 591,600 (570,900; +3.6 percent) from January to December 2016, including HongKong. In 2016, the fourrings saw demand surge in the premium compact segment in particular: Audi A3 models deliveries up 29.7 percent to 89,200 units; and the Q3 models totaling 89,800 units, 27.6 percentmore than in 2015, according to Volkswagen.
ŠKODA brand followed on from its double-digit growth in 2015, with 12.6 percent growth in 2016, delivering 317,100 (281,700) vehicles.
Among the luxury brands, Porsche posted deliveries of 65,200 (58,000) vehicles in 2016, experiencing an increase of 12.5 percent over 2015.
