Four out of 10 VW cars sold in China in 2017

BERLIN - Four out of 10 Volkswagen Group's cars were sold in the Chinese market last year, the Wolfsburg-based German company announced here on Tuesday at its annual media conference.

Globally, a record number of 10.7 million units were delivered in 2017. Among them, 4.2 million vehicles were sold in the Chinese market by the Chinese joint ventures, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.1 percent, the German carmaker said.

Group sales revenue also climbed to a new record in 2017 to 230.7 billion euros ($285.8 billion), up 6.2 percent from a year ago, CFO Frank Witter highlighted.

Witter said that the group's financial position was solid, despite the challenge posed by expenditure on the diesel scandal. "We are actively guiding the changes in our business," he said.

In addition, CEO Matthias Mueller told reporters that 16 locations around the world are to produce battery powered vehicles by the end of 2022. Currently, the group produces electric vehicles at three locations.

Volkswagen had announced plans to build up to three million electric vehicles annually by 2025 and market 80 new electric group models.

For 2018, the group predicts that the deliveries will moderately exceed this year's figure and that the sales revenue will increase by up to 5 percent.