Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 1) - Volkswagen AG set a new record in China in 2011, selling a total of 2.26 million vehicles through the course of the entire year, xkb.com.cn reported today. That number is 17.7 percent the amount the German manufacturer sold in 2010.

VW commented that its strategy for increasing its sales in southern China has met with great success, and that it will look to continue to expand into the west of the country. To this point, the manufacturer's new production site in Chengdu, Sichuan has already begun operation last September.

VW's two Chinese joint ventures, Shanghai VW and FAW-VW, have already announced ambitious goals for the upcoming years, with a both JVs planning to invest 14 billion euros ($18.41b) by 2016. The money will be primarily used to introduce more new energy models and construct more environmentally friendly factories in the country.