Volkswagen (VOW.FRA, VOW3.FRA) will compete with General Motors (GM; GM.NYSE) for the top 2013 sales spot among foreign car makers in China, as Japanese automakers led by Toyota Motors (TM.NYSE, 7203.TYO) struggle amid a dispute over islands in the East China Seas, Bloomberg reported. Volkswagen, who has not been the sales leader since 2004, is forecast to sell 2.7 million units in China next year, compared to GM’s 2.65 million, according to auto industry researcher JSC Automotive Consulting. Passenger car sales in the country will grow at a faster rate and increase by as much as 10% in 2013, fueled by a reviving economy, said eight analysts polled by Bloomberg. Foreign carmakers are increasing their investments in China, with Volkswagen injecting US$13 billion through 2015 and GM opening 400 showrooms next year, in a bid to offset falling sales in Europe. In contrast, the situation for Toyota in China is still “very tough,” the company’s President Akio Toyoda said on December 20. The island dispute that re-flared in the second half of 2012 has led to falling sales figures for Japanese companies in China.
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