(MENAFN- Arab Times) Ijing april 19 (agencies): volkswagen will keep expanding chinese operations and start selling battery-powered cars in the biggest auto market as the country rewards electric-vehicle buyers to tackle air pollution. vw said on saturday it will add capacity in its top market the destination of over a third of its 2.4 million first-quarter group deliveries as economic stimulus measures and demand in china's interior regions fuel sales. vw group deliveries may increase to over 3.5 million cars this year a record from 3.27 million in 2013 chief executive martin winterkorn said at a company event. the german group one of the first global automakers to establish production facilities in china during the 1980s will push its environmental credentials as china moves to upgrade the economy and shift the focus away from heavy industry. the government announced in february a 10 billion yuan ($1.61 billion) fund to help change the way it produces and consumes energy. it aims to promote green and low-carbon technology to cut fossil fuel use and control coal consumption.
'here in china as elsewhere people's expectations of mobility and the automobile are changing faster and faster' the vw ceo said. europe's biggest carmaker which also sells the high-performance lamborghini and bentley brands in china is a late starter in terms of making environmentally-friendly cars there. rival daimler and chinese partner byd co plan to start selling their denza electric vehicle this year while hybrid vehicle champion toyota unveiled the yundon-showanchin ii hybrid model last year specifically developed for china. vw plans to start selling electric versions of the up city-car and the golf hatchback this year followed by plug-in hybrid versions of the audi a3 compact and golf gte in 2015 according to vw. travel
plug-in hybrids can travel longer distances on battery power than ordinary hybrids and can be recharged at public charging stations. vw also said it plans to develop and build plug-in versions of audi's a6 model and a new mid-sized saloon with its two chinese partners. 'here in china we are now setting out on the road to a future of emission-free mobility' winterkorn said. vw which has over a dozen factories in china plans to expand its distribution network by half to 3600 dealers by 2018 from 2400 last year jochem heizmann the head of vw's china operations said at a briefing. the carmaker's two joint venture partners first automotive works and shanghai volkswagen are planning to spend 18.2 billion euros through 2018 the year vw has pledged to take the global car-sales crown on models technologies and plants. meanwhile fiat and chrysler announced plans saturday to build three new jeep models in china for that market the biggest for the vehicles outside the united states as they attempt to boost sales in a country where they lag behind their competitors. the automakers said they will expand their joint venture with china's guangzhou automobile group co ltd and increase the portfolio of jeeps which are currently imported to china. production is expected to start in late 2015 in guangzhou the companies said in a statement adding that they are considering a jeep model 'uniquely designed for china.' the companies offered no additional details and representatives of all three members of the joint venture did not immediately return requests from the associated press for comment. fiat and chrysler ceo sergio marchionne said in the statement that the deal represents the next phase in the 'expansion on a global scale of the jeep brand.' china represents the largest jeep market outside the us with nearly 60000 vehicles sold last year. fiat and chrysler were expected to try to increase sales in the high-growth chinese market. marchionne said last month he hopes to complete the legal merger of fiat and chrysler by the end of this year to create fiat chrysler automobiles the world's seventh-largest automaker. the executive plans to outline a new multi-year business plan in detroit in may.
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