Beijing  -  Volkwagen AG and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd opened a new factory Friday in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing with an annual production capacity of 60,000 cars.

The joint venture company between Germany's VW and China's largest carmaker bought and expanded a factory on a 640,000-square-metre plot of land from Italy's Fiat to help fulfil rising demand in China, VW said.

Santana Vistas, new versions of China's best-selling car, are to be initially produced at the new factory, where 1,200 people are to work.

The factory is the fourth for the joint venture, Shanghai Volkswagen, and the 49th production facility for Volkswagen worldwide.

Volkswagen aims to sell more than 1 million cars in China this year, an increase from 910,000 last year. (dpa)