VW grows in China as Ford cuts loom

THE mixed fortunes of the German car market are reflected today in plans for expansion in China, job losses for Ford - and a bonus for the production line workers of Porsche.

First came news that VW is poised to invest e240m (£167m) in China to build a car plant in Shanghai. The deal, being negotiated with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, seeks to turn a nation of bikeriders into Western car-consumers. A factory is planned capable of building 180,000 vehicles a year by 2005.

The deal comes weeks after Europe's biggest car maker forecast a 'sharp rise' in underlying profits next year. Further south from the VW company HQ in Wolfsburg, the workers at Porsche can expect a bonus of e3000 each. The company has enjoyed an upturn due to high sales of its niche sports cars and its new four-wheeler the Cayenne.

But for Ford employees in Germany the outlook is bleak. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany's most authoritative newspaper, said 1,700 jobs may go by the end of the year.