Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen plans to more than triple its sales in south China by 2018 as a main driver for its strategy to double sales to 2 million units in the the country by that time, its China chief said on Sunday.

Malaysia, which has to reduce tariffs on auto and parts imports as part of a deal with Asian neighbors, is scouting for a partner for national carmaker Proton as it faces increasing foreign competition.