China: Shanghai Volkswagen Passat Lingyu replacement to be exported to NAFTA markets
Shanghai Volkswagen, the German OEM's Chinese joint venture with SAIC, has announced that it will develop a sedan based on the next-generation Passat platform, to be marketed both in the domestic market and North America, according to Reuters.
The initial focus will be on the Chinese market, Volkswagen China spokesman Kai Grueber says. According to Shanghai Volkswagen spokesman Gu Huan, his company will be in charge of the car's exterior and interior styling.
"Tastes in China and North America in the main features are similar. There will be some differences in the smaller details, though," Automotive News quotes Huan, as saying.
The new vehicle is expected to be launched in 2009, a report carried by XFN-Asia adds. The car will replace the OEM's Passat Lingyu, a long-wheelbase version of the previous generation Passat.
Recently, FAW-Volkswagen, Volkswagen's other joint venture in China, launched its new Magotan sedan. This upscale model, which premiered at the Beijing motor show in November 2006, is itself virtually identical to the latest generation Passat built in Germany.