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Dr. Dr. Carl H. Hahn, former chairman of Volkswagen Group, died at the age of 96 on January 14, 2023.

According to the data, Hahn was born in 1926 to an industrial family in the eastern German city of Chemnitz, the son of a co-founder of the Automobile Alliance (later Audi). In 1954, Hahn joined Volkswagen Group as an assistant to the chairman and became head of sales and promotion in Volkswagen's export department the following year. In 1959, Hahn became president of the Volkswagen Group in the United States, with excellent marketing means, Volkswagen Beetle sales in the United States increased significantly. In 1964, relying on his good performance in the American market, Hahn became a member of the board of Volkswagen Group.

In 1972, Hahn left Volkswagen Group to become chairman of German tire giant Continental Group, saving the company with a new corporate strategy. Hahn returned to Volkswagen as chairman in 1982, signing a partnership agreement with Spanish car brand Seattle at the beginning of his tenure and acquiring the brand through equity acquisitions within 10 years. In addition, Hahn also led Volkswagen Group to acquire Eastern European car brand Skoda, thus becoming the fourth largest German Volkswagen brand after Volkswagen, Audi and Seattle.

Under his leadership, he not only realized the revival of Audi brand, completed the acquisition of Seattle brand and Skoda brand, and developed many classic models, including Passat, Golf, Polo and so on. At the same time, through the establishment of production bases in China, Spain and other countries and regions, Volkswagen Group can achieve internationalization and become one of the top enterprises in the world.

More importantly, Hahn made great efforts to promote Volkswagen's joint venture in the Chinese market. At present, China has become the largest and most important overseas market of Volkswagen Group, and he has also become an important figure affecting the development of China's automobile industry.

In the 1980s, when China had just begun the spring breeze of reform and opening up, when almost no one was optimistic about the barren land, Karl Hahn, who had just been in office for two weeks, urged Volkswagen to cooperate with China. In his view, China will be the most promising market in the world. Out of the understanding of China's long history of 5,000 years and its determination to reform and open up, Volkswagen must not miss the opportunity to enter the Chinese market.

In October 1984, the signing ceremony of the joint venture contract of Shanghai Volkswagen was held in the Great Hall of the people, which means that after six years of contacts, the cooperation between the two sides has achieved substantial results. In March 1985, Shanghai Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd. laid the foundation and put into production of Santana models in China. In May 1988, Volkswagen signed a technical cooperation agreement with FAW of China. In February 1991, FAW-Volkswagen Co., Ltd. was established and put into production of Audi brand and Jetta models.

Today, China has become the world's largest automobile market, and it is also the largest single market of Volkswagen Group in the world. He has become an important figure who has a profound impact on the development of China's automobile industry. In 1992, Carl Hahn stepped down as chairman of Volkswagen Group and officially retired the following year.

According to the data, Volkswagen delivered 3.27 million vehicles in China in 2014 and 3.27 million, 3.68 million, 3.54 million, 3.98 million, 4.18 million, 4.21 million, 4.23 million, 3.85 million and 3.3 million in 2013-2021, respectively. The latest figures show that Volkswagen sold 3.1845 million vehicles in China in 2022, down 3.6% from a year earlier, and overall sales are slightly lower than in the same period in 2021. It is understood that Volkswagen Group sold 8.2826 million vehicles worldwide in 2022, down 7.0% from the same period last year. China accounts for 38.4% of its global market share, which is still Volkswagen's largest single market in the world.

Today, China has become the largest overseas market of Volkswagen Group. SAIC Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen have been among the top three in China's passenger car market for 40 years in a row. Santana, Jetta, Passat, Golf and other models have once become household names. Hahn once said proudly in an interview with the domestic media: "the small trees planted by themselves at that time have now grown into big trees, and it is time for harvest."

The death of Carl Hahn, to some extent, symbolizes the end of an era. In 2022, Chinese brand BYD became the top seller of a single passenger car company in China with a score of 1.86 million vehicles, breaking the 40-year monopoly of joint ventures such as North and South Volkswagen.

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