SALES OF 100,000 CARS TARGETED

       German automobile giant Volkswagen, seeking to tap into India's fast-growing vehicle market, on Wednesday said it hoped to sell 4100,000 cars by 2014 in that country.
       Europe's largest car manufacturer said it would accelerate its sales in India, using the planned launch next year of its popular mass-market Polo hatchback and sedan models.
       Last year, VW India sold 1,566 vehicles, and this year the company hopes to double that figure.
       VW, which wants to reduce reliance on saturated Western markets, plans to increase the number of cars it sells in India to 100,000 in five years, said Neeraj Garg director for passenger cars at VW India.
       Next year, the company plans to launch the hatchback Polo model in the first half and the sedan model in the second half.
       "I am totally confident we can achieve this sales increase," Garg said. "We need to have a product in the mass market [in India], and for that the Polo is the right car. the premium-hatchback segment in India is showing very promising growth. There's huge opportunity."
       The Polo will be manufactured at the company's new Chakan plant near Pune, which opened in March and has the capacity to produce 110,000 cars a year.
       India is "one of the most strategic markets for growth of Volkswagen globally. The company has invested heavily in India said.
       VW already sells its Passat and Jetta sedans in India, as well as itms premium Phaeton and the Touareg sport-utility vehicles.
       The company is also planning to sell in India its new Beetle, the remake of the iconic "bug", Carg said, adding that its introduction might come before the launch of the Polo.
       Nearly all of the big global carmakers are present in India or establishing plants to drive revenue growth.
       India, with its growing middle class, is one of the few countries where car sales have been increasing amid the worldwide economic downturn.
       The country is one of the world's least-penetrated car markets, with only seven autos per 1,000 people, compared with 850 cars per 1,000 people in the United States, industry figures show.