VOLKSWAGEN AG is on track to sell 2 million vehicles in China this year, and the group will invest another 14 billion euros (US$19 billion) because it is "very optimistic on car demand in the country in the medium term," said a company executive.

In the first 10 months of this year, the German carmaker has sold 1.89 million vehicles to Chinese customers, an annual increase of 14.8 percent that vastly outpaced the industry average of 3 percent during the same period last year.

Karl-Thomas Neumann, CEO and president of VW's China unit, said the carmaker increased its market share in south China to 15.8 percent from 12 percent in 2008.

"The steady growth will make the year 2011 the most successful year for Volkswagen in China," said Neumann at the Guangzhou auto show yesterday.

He said Volkswagen China will achieve the sales target in the group's 2018 strategy ahead of schedule and double the capacity in the country to 3 million units by 2015.

Neumann reiterated that China will remain the focus of the VW group's future development with another 14 billion euros to be invested during 2012-2016 to expand capacity and introduce more models that are more fuel-efficient.

By 2015, the carmaker plans to launch about 50 new models as it is "very optimistic on car demand in the country in the medium term," Neumann said.

Volkswagen, which presented the new Sharan multi-purpose vehicle, Cross Polo and the new Sagitar mid-class sedan at the Guangzhou auto show, has been banking on emerging markets like China to drive it to be the world's largest automaker by 2018 amid head-on competition with General Motors and Toyota.

The carmaker hopes to outpace the expected 8-10 percent growth in China's car market in the coming years, executives said yesterday.