VW to Set Up Production in Southeast Asia

Volkswagen  is moving forward with plans to set up production in fast-growing Southeast Asian markets as the German carmaker expands its overseas footprint to boost its global ambitions.

"We will certainly become an active player in the region in the next years," Michael Macht, VW group production chief, told Reuters at the Frankfurt motor show on Wednesday.

"We are currently very actively on the road in these countries," Macht, who sits on VW's eight-member executive board, said in an interview. He declined to be more specific.

The Wolfsburg-based multi-brand automotive group, which still lacks a vehicle-assembly plant in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) group of countries, has a goal of overtaking Toyota <7203.T> and General Motors <GM.N> to become the world's largest automaker no later than 2018.

The ASEAN group comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.