The result of a collaboration between Volkswagen in Germany and its Chinese partner, First Automotive Work (FAW)-Volkswagen, the Jetta brand will be aimed younger buyers with Volkswagen projecting the establishing of some 200 dealerships by the end of this year.

“With Jetta, we are closing the gap between the established VW lead brand in the top volume segment and entry-level mobility, which accounts for about one third of the Chinese market and is served mainly by local brands. This way, we will significantly increase our market coverage,”Volkswagen Brand Board Member of Management responsible for Sales, Jürgen Stackmann, said in a statement.

“In China, the Jetta plays an extremely valuable role for us as a Volkswagen model. It has brought mobility for the masses, just like the Beetle once did in Europe. Developed by Volkswagen and built in China, the Jetta has placed China on four wheels. To this day, it is one of Volkswagen’s most popular models in China – a real icon. This is why we are transforming a model into a brand for the first time in the history of Volkswagen and establishing a separate model and brand family”.

Accordingly, the Jetta range of vehicles will be bespoke to China and made by FAW-VW at its Chengdu plant from the third quarter of this year, with quality, safety, value and a clear design language being touted as the as biggest focus points.

Based on a report by Britain’s Autocar, the Jetta line-up will consist out of three models; the VA3 based on the Jetta Night that makes use of a unique A0 platform known as A05+, the VS5 (yellow) that rates as a rebadged version of the Seat Ateca and the VS7 that comes across as a re-skinned Seat Tarraco, which itself is Seat’s take on the Volkswagen Tiguan with either five or seven seats.

With sales of 3.1-million vehicles in China last year, Volkswagen currently rates as the biggest automaker in the country with a claimed market share of “more than 50%”.