Volkswagen to Add 12 Models to Lineup

Volkswagen said it would spend $24.35 billion to expand its range to 50 cars from 38. The supervisory board of Germany-based Volkswagen approved the spending plan, which it said represented the biggest investment in company history. Kurt Rippholz, a VW spokesman, said the Lupo, part of the new line, will be smaller than the Beetle and the Polo, currently Volkswagen’s most diminutive car. The investment comes as rivals such as Daimler-Benz and Fiat challenge the VW Golf’s dominance of the European market for mid-size cars, and as a new breed of “city class” cars threaten to steal market share from “super mini” cars like VW’s Polo. Volkswagen said that “despite economic weakness in certain markets” it expects future unit sales to remain “positive.” The company said it will pursue plans to reduce to four the number of chassis its cars are built on, to keep costs down.