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VW to invest fewer euros in China due to weak yuan

ESSEN, Germany, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Germany's Volkswagen AG said on Thursday it would invest fewer euros in the booming Chinese auto market than it had originally earmarked because a weak Chinese yuan made the investment more valuable.

"We will invest five billion euros in China in the coming years," Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder said at an event in Essen.

Europe's biggest carmaker had previously flagged investment of six billion euros ($7.5 billion) in China from 2004 to 2008. The Chinese yuan is pegged to the U.S. dollar, which tumbled 20 percent against the euro last year and is still falling.

"In local currency, there is no change in the investment planned," a spokesman said.

He added that the original planned investment was not a rigid amount and had to be tailored to market developments.

With a market share of around 30 percent, VW is the leader in the world's fastest growing car market and has said it wants to double its production there to 1.6 million vehicles in the next five years.

VW, which is less hedged against currency fluctuations than many of its peers, has been hit in the last year by euro strength against the dollar because it makes exports to the United States more expensive.

The company had 1.2 billion euros lopped off its pre-tax profit in the first nine months of last year.