With Winterkorn at the head of the company, Volkswagen merged with Porsche and made the first steps towards the company's consolidation plans in the United States. The German manufacturer will open the factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee and will start production of a New Midsize Sedan that will replace the Passat in GM's domestic market.
“Volkswagen seeks continuity at the top of the company so we can concentrate completely on the details of our tasks,” Bernd Osterloh, the supervisory board's deputy chief and head of the carmaker's works council, said in a separate statement, according to a report by Bloomberg. “With Martin Winterkorn we'll continue our successful course.”
Planning to surpass Toyota as the number one car manufacturer by the end of the decade, Volkswagen seems to go the right way, as profits are reported at the end of almost each month. In the first nine months of 2010 for instance, VW sold a total of 5.4 million vehicles, or 12.9 percent more than in 2009. The net liquidity of the group increased to EUR19.6 billion ($27 billion), way up from the EUR13.4 billion ($18.4 billion) reported for the same period of 2009.
Furthermore, Volkswagen has already given the go-ahead to a plan to invest up to EUR 51.6 billion in the next five years, a plan that will bring new production facilities, new vehicles and facelifts for the existing ones.
"We are systematically pursuing the goals of our Strategy 2018 to further increase our profitability and to make Volkswagen the world’s most future-proof automotive group. The investment program we have now resolved will play a significant role in this,” Winterkorn said in November 2010.
Google News