Volkswagen surpassed Toyota Motor Corp in sales volume in 2011, second only to General Motors Corp worldwide, which analysts said is thanks to its strong performance in China. Volkswagen sold some 2 million cars over the past three quarters in China, up 18.5 percent year-on-year, according to its financial report.
And Volkswagen's market share for the first three quarters climbed to 21 percent, 1.9 percentage points year-on-year growth, beating rivals General Motors and Hyundai Motor Group, which seized 10 and 9 percent market shares respectively.
Zeng said it is still hard to tell whether Volkswagen can increase its advantage, as its rivals may also expand their sales networks. General Motors, for instance, announced in April it will have some 600 more dealers in China by the end of 2012.
However, others said Volkswagen can keep beating its opponents.
"Unlike General Motors, which entered China in 1997, Volkswagen has been in China for some three decades and many of its products, like Santana and Jetta, have become widely known," Su Hui, a senior marketing expert at China Automobile Dealers Association, told the Global Times Tuesday.
Besides, China and Germany are on good terms. "The Chinese don't have the same dislike for German products as they do for Japanese ones, for historical reasons," Su said, noting that the next few years should see a stable Volkswagen sales volume.
Hyundai Motor saw its sales in China climb 37 percent in October as the South Korean automaker seized some of the market share lost by its Japanese counterparts as a result of worsened Sino-Japan ties.
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