Volkswagen AG share price down, September sales rise 3%, expands cooperation with China’s FAW Car Corp.

Volkswagen AG said in a statement that its sales in September rose by 3% from a year earlier and that it could surpass the 10-million mark of vehicles sold this year.

Christian Klingler, member of VWs management board, commented on the companys performance for the Wall Street Journal: “Even though markets remain challenging, we nevertheless have the chance to reach the 10 million deliveries mark this year — four years earlier than originally planned.”

According to the car manufacturers statement, a total of 881 300 vehicles were delivered by the company in September. In addition, Volkswagen, which owns the Audi and Porsche brands in its product portfolio, said that its sales over the first nine months of the year increased by 5.3% and amounted to 7.40 million units.

Volkswagen revealed that deliveries in the Asian-Pacific region rose by 14% year-to-date, and by 6.4% in Europe. However, the companys sales slightly fell in North America, while posting a significant 13% drop in Russia and a 21% decline in South America.

In addition, according to several people with knowledge of the situation, the biggest auto manufacturer in Europe also intends to broaden its research-and-development projects held with its China-based joint venture partner China FAW Car Corp. The people, who asked not to be named, because the matter is still private, reported that the company plans to start working on hybrid and electric cars.

Volkswagen will prolong the agreement focused on vehicle production by 25 years and will also consider additional ventures on which it plans to work in cooperation with its Chinese partner.

The official representatives of the Germany-based company refused to comment on the rumors. The spokeswoman of FAW was not reached for comment.

Volkswagen AG lost 2.96% to trade at €151.00 per share at 12:16 GMT, marking a one year change of -13.24%. The company is valued at €73.99 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 29 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Volkswagen AG have a median target of €216.40, with a high estimate of €265.00 and a low estimate of €179.00. The median estimate represents a 39.07% increase from the previous close of €155.60.