VW poised for growth, survey says

As Volkswagen prepares to unveil a car and start production at its Chattanooga plant, a survey of auto executives puts VW as one of the top two winners of global market share in the next five years.

"It's making a big investment in the U.S.," said Gary Silberg, national automotive industry leader for the consulting firm KPMG LLP. "They're putting money where their mouth is.

The KPMG survey, which polled 200 industry executives and was released this week, shows that the most execs believe the Chinese auto brands will pick up market share worldwide in the period.

Silberg said that's not surprising given the Chinese car companies are starting at a low base and in a huge and fast-growing market.

VW, slated to reveal its new made-in-Chattanooga midsize sedan at the Detroit auto show next week, was No. 2 among the global executives. Silberg said VW has a lot of momentum along with a plan to charge to the world's No. 1 position by sales by 2018.

"What I find interesting is these execs must believe in it," the KPMG official said. "There has got to be a confidence of VW achieving that. That's what that tells me."

In addition to its expansion plans in the U.S., the German automaker is investing to grow an already sizable presence in China. Also, the company is powering up sales in India.

Earlier this week, Volkswagen of America reported 2010 sales climbed 20 percent over the prior year, the carmaker's best U.S. showing since 2003.

Mark Barnes, VW of America's chief operating officer, said officials look forward to continuing the trend this year.

He mentioned the launch of the Chattanooga-built sedan and the 2012 Beetle, which is to be assembled in Mexico.

Silberg said VW has a lot of brands. Porsche will be the automaker's 10th when its addition is finalized. That makes for a complex business and is counter to the efforts of Ford, for example, which is trimming brands, Silberg said.

Still, there are a lot of synergies at VW in terms of purchasing parts and finding commonality in the cost of the business, he said.

Silberg said the survey also showed the U.S. Big 3 of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were the most improved car companies in terms of gaining future market share.

He termed the surge "quite remarkable," adding that the health of the Big 3 is important to the U.S.

VW's new $1 billion Chattanooga assembly plant is slated to start production within weeks at Enterprise South industrial park. The factory is expected to employ between 2,000 and 2,500 workers when fully ramped up.