Volkswagen confident despite emissions scandal

Jochem Heizmann, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Carmaker plans for a successful and sustainable future in China

Volkswagen will not cut investment in China despite the embattled German carmaker reporting losses after the emissions scandal in the United States.

The BBC reported that Volkswagen registered an operating loss of 3.48 billion euros ($3.8 billion) for the third quarter of the year and a pre-tax loss of 2.52 billion euros.

"Volkswagen will absolutely stay with its Chinese investment programs. We are really confident about the future," said Jochem Heizmann, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group China released plans that said it is investing 22 billion euros along with its two joint ventures -FAW-Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen - in China, its largest market since 2009.

As one of the earliest foreign carmakers with local production, Volkswagen has 30 plants to produce vehicles and components in a number of Chinese cities.

The automaker sold 2.58 million cars in China in the first nine months of this year, a slight fall from the same period last year, but said it is optimistic about the market.

"If you look at the first half of the year, among the top 10 selling models in China, six were from Volkswagen," said Heizmann.

"And we are quite confident that in the medium and long-term, the Chinese automotive industry, especially in business growth, will be higher than any other relevant automotive markets."

Volkswagen said it is taking the emission scandal seriously in China although there are not many diesel-engine cars sold in the Chinese market.

In October it issued a recall plan for the 1,950 such vehicles sold in the country, which have similar problems to those in the US.

"Sometimes it happens that you may have quality questions. The important thing is to recognize this as early as possible and react in the right way to serve the customers," said Heizmann.

"In China we remain firmly focused on our customers. We are concentrating on introducing a lot of new products in China. We are committed without any doubts."