VW drives China forward

BEIJING: The Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co has produced its 800,000th VW Santana. Shanghai Volkswagen is a Sino-German joint venture.

The Santana has 52 percent of the China market, something Indonesian carmakers can only dream about. On the back of this success, VW Shanghai will expand its existing technical center to add independent product development capacity.

The move is designed to retain the company's leading position in China's carmaking industry.

The expansion is expected to cost more than US$5 million and be finished next year. When completed, the center, set up in 1994, will add a proving ground and a prototype and test base.