Gasgoo.com (Shanghai December 29) - Not long after news surfaced that FAW Volkswagen was awarding its workers with a yearly bonus equivalent to 27 months' salary, International Finance News posted a report today that FAW-VW had paid a whopping 24.3 billion yuan ($3.69b) in taxes in 2010. If the report is true, FAW-VW would one of the automobile industry's largest contributors of tax revenue.

The tax figures are a testament to FAW-VW's strong market performance over these past few years. The joint venture manufactured its one millionth vehicle of the year last week, successfully meeting its annual production target. According to statistics, FAW-VW sold 960,000 vehicles in the country from January to November of this year. Passenger vehicle sales increased 11.6 percent from 2010, slightly above the industry average growth rate of 9.4 percent. The JV sold 860,000 vehicles last year, and seems set to complete its sales goal for 2011 well ahead of schedule.

Other manufacturers have also reportedly contributed a large amount in taxes last year. A recent announcement from Shenyang's Ministry of Finance reveals that Brilliance BMW contributed 27.6 billion yuan ($4.19b) in taxes last year, while Shanghai GM's Beisheng factory generated 27.3 billion yuan ($4.15) in taxes.