A new Magotan sedan is unveiled during its mass-production ceremony in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, July 5, 2011.The FAW-Volkswagen Automobile, a joint venture between China First Automotive Works Group Corporation and its German partner Volkswagen AG, held the ceremony here on Tuesday. The new Magotan sedan is planned to put into market in late July. [Photo/Xinhua]

CHANGCHUN--Volkswagen AG's Chinese joint venture began production of its new model of B-class sedan Magotan on Tuesday,according to the relevant sources within the company.

The seventh generation of Magotan is manufactured in FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd, the joint venture between China's FAW Group and Volkswagen AG, in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

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The new model has a lengthened wheel base of 2,812 mm, or 103 mm longer than that of the current version, which was launched to the Chinese market in July, 2007.

The longer wheel base has enabled the new Magotan to offer a spacier leg room for rear-seat passengers.

An Tiecheng, general manager of the joint venture, said the new model was scheduled to be marketed at the end of this month.

The new model will further broaden the product line-up of FAW Volkswagen and sharpen the company's competitiveness, An said.

Established in 1991, FAW Volkswagen has already set up four production bases in China, offering a variety of car models like Jetta, Bora, Golf, Sagitar, VW CC, Magotan, Audi and Audi Q5 sports utility vehicle.

In the first five months of this year, FAW Volkswagen's automobile sales have totalled 386,963, up 16 percent year on year, according to figures released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).