14 Jan 2014

VW to invest $US7b in US

10:21 am on 14 January 2014

Volkswagen intends to invest $US7 billion in North America over the next five years.

The company will also launch a new sports utility vehicle in the United States in 2016. It also reiterated its goal of selling a million Volkswagens and Audis - its luxury brand - in the US by 2018.

Volkswagen has its sights set on becoming the world's biggest carmaker by then. It is currently third behind Toyota and General Motors.

"As a group, we will be investing over $US7 billion in North America over the next five years," said chief executive Martin Winterkorn on Monday.

Last week, Volkswagen reported record sales for its luxury brands - Audi, Porsche and Bentley - in 2013.

The BBC reports a rise in deliveries in the US market was a key contributor to this.

Audi sales jumped 13.5% in the United States during the period, from a year ago, while Porsche saw growth of 21% and Bentley deliveries rose 28%.