(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-12 18:58

BEIJING -- German automaker Volkswagen plans to sell 900,000 vehicles in China this year, spurred by a 30-percent rise in sales in the first nine months.

The sales target exceeds the previous goal of 800,000 vehicles in the auto giant's fastest growing market in the world.

Sales from January to September surged 30.2 percent from the same period last year to a record 684,786 vehicles in China, 13,000 of which were imported.

The Audi, Volkswagen's luxury brand, saw sales soar 25.7 percent to 76,168, including 6,504 that were imported.

China had become Volkswagen's largest overseas market, with its profits on the rise since the beginning of the year, said Winfried Vahland, chief executive officer of Volkswagen China.

Last year, Volkswagen and its two joint ventures in Shanghai and eastern Jilin province sold 711,000 vehicles in China, up 24.3 percent from a year earlier.