FAW-Volkswagen, the joint venture between FAW Group Corporation and Volkswagen AG, had set a sales target of 600,000 autos for 2008, 200,000 more than the result in 2007. However, the No. 1 Chinese automaker’s selling is less than 400,000 units in the first nine months this year, accounting for only 67 percent of its full-year target. China's automobile market recovered in September from August, with 751,500 vehicles sold nationwide, up 19.48 percent month-on-month. However, it still represented a year-on-year 2.74 percent decline compared with last September. September is always considered a golden sales month for the Chinese auto market.

Sales in the overseas markets were also frustrating. Jin Yibo, assistant to the general manager of Chery Auto, has clearly said that the China's No. 1 independent automaker and exporter will hardly be able to meet its full-year target in 2008. He attributed the probable failure to the declining Russian auto market and the appreciating Yuan.