F&I Management & Training

Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, saw net profits fall 80% last year to 960m euros ($1.3bn; £872m).

Operating profits also fell, down 71% from a year earlier to 1.9bn euros, while revenues fell 8% to 105bn euros.

But global sales rose 1.3% to 6.3 million vehicles, thanks to a 36.7% jump in deliveries to China.

Deliveries to the German car market also rose 17.6% last year on the back of the government's scrappage scheme, gaining a market share of 34.2%.

Sales continued to surge during the early part of this year, with worldwide deliveries rising 27% in the last two months.

The increase outpaced a 20% rise in global vehicle sales by all firms during the period, the company said.

"We have no intention of slowing down in 2010," said VW chief Martin Winterkorn.

The firm aims to overtake Toyota as the world's number one by 2018.

New models

It has been on shopping spree. It bought the Porsche sports car business for 3.9bn euros last year.

In January, it also bought nearly 20% of Japanese small car specialist Suzuki for 1.7bn euros.

The firm plans to use a convertible bond issue and a share sale to help finance its planned acquisitions.

"Such an authorisation would give us a further financing instrument, which we consider to be standard for increasing the financial flexibility of major joint stock companies such as Volkswagen but which is not available to us at the moment," said Hans Dieter Poetsch, Volkswagen Group finance director.