German carmakers on Monday launched major drives for a larger stake in the lucrative US car market, after decades lagging behind their US and Asian rivals, according to dpa. German carmakers laid down the gauntlet at the Detroit car show, which began with a press preview Monday. Porsche returned to the largest North American auto show for the first time in four years, while Volkswagen was to unveil a new and cheaper mid-sized sedan aimed at capture market share in the United States. "We are building up our production capacity in the United States, with the goal of raising our market share this year," said Mattias Wissman, president of the German car association VDA. As in the comeback year of 2010, Wissman predicted the US market would grow 11 per cent in 2011, to 12.8 million vehicles. That made the United States the second most important export country for Germany's carmakers, behind Britain and ahead of China, which has become the world's largest car market. German carmakers already control nearly half of the lucrative luxury car market in the United States. Overall, they raised their market share for the sixth straight year in the US to 7.6 per cent in 2010, and plan to break the 1-million-vehicle mark in 2011.
