SHANGHAI Volkswagen, the German carmaker's joint venture in China, plans to set up an assembly plant in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region this year to explore the markets of northwest China and Central Asia, local commerce officials said yesterday.

The plant, located in the regional capital Urumqi, may be operational in 2013 and produce 50,000 units of small sedans annually, said Li Yi, an official with the trade and investment bureau of Urumqi's Development Zone.

Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the Volkswagen Group, was in Urumqi last week to inspect preparations for the new plant.

Zhang Chunxian, Xinjiang's top official, told Winterkorn that the region's auto market is growing rapidly thanks to the improved transport network as well as connections to neighboring provinces and Central Asian countries.

He said the Urumqi plant will help Volkswagen "gain a strategic advantage" in the northwest China and Central Asia markets.

Source:shanghaidaily.com