Finance
Volkswagen looks to Asia, Middle East for export opportunities from China
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 28, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 28, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Volkswagen plans to export more cars from China to Asia and the Middle East, facing competition in China and aiming to remain a top-three carmaker.
BERLIN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Volkswagen plans to use its lower costs in China to export more cars from the country to other markets - but not Europe, the German carmaker's CEO and China chief said.
Ralf Brandstaetter, who heads Volkswagen's China business, said Chinese-made models could be shipped to South-East Asia, the Middle East or South America.
"We do not plan to export to Europe," he told reporters on Tuesday evening.
CEO CONFIDENT, BUT CHALLENGES REMAIN
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said Volkswagen had made strong progress over the past three years and that its models were performing well, but the industry remains tough, meaning more cost cuts are still needed.
"We need to roll up our sleeves," he said. "We simply have to earn more money so that we are even better equipped to invest in the future."
Volkswagen has slipped down the rankings in China - the world's biggest car market - after being overtaken as the top-selling automaker in recent years by local rivals BYD and Geely.
Blume is under pressure to halt falling sales in China, where Volkswagen is behind on EVs and locked in a price war with domestic competitors.
"Prices have now reached a level at which we assume they will not fall any further. But prices will not rise again either," Brandstaetter said.
In the long term, Volkswagen aims to remain among the three largest carmakers in China, he said.
(Additional reporting by Rachel More. Editing by Mark Potter)
An export strategy is a plan that outlines how a company intends to sell its products or services in foreign markets, including target markets, pricing, and distribution methods.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are automobiles that are powered by electric motors instead of internal combustion engines, using batteries to store energy.
Price stability is an economic condition where prices in an economy do not fluctuate significantly over time, contributing to economic predictability and consumer confidence.
The automotive industry encompasses all companies and activities involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles.
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