MEXICO CITY (Dow Jones/AP) — Volkswagen AG said Friday it expects production at its Mexican plant to rise 9.5 percent this year to a record 450,000 units.
Volkswagen de Mexico said 2007 production reached 411,129 units, up 18 percent from the previous year's tally of 348,327.
''Volkswagen de Mexico reached its production goals for the close of 2007,'' the company said in a statement, adding that last year's volume was the second-highest on record.
The auto maker's best year was 2000, when it produced 425,703 cars and vans, a record it aims to break in 2008.
The primary export market for Volkswagen de Mexico in 2007 was Europe, which received 140,737 vehicles, followed by the United States and Canada, which imported a combined 133,536 units.
Only 79,023 units stayed in the domestic market, with the remainder of the company's production being shipped to South America, Asia, and elsewhere.
