Chinese-German auto joint venture FAW-Volkswagen on Tuesday held a ceremony to mark its first batch of cars for export rolling off the assembly line at its production base in Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

The joint venture between Volkswagen Group and FAW Group said that the batch of 554 Magotan and Sagitar sedans will be shipped to the Middle East as part of its broader push into overseas markets.

Chen Bin, general manager of FAW-Volkswagen, said that the company views overseas expansion as a key growth driver and aims to become a leading exporter among joint-venture auto brands between Chinese and foreign enterprises.

In addition to its Volkswagen brand, FAW-Volkswagen said that its Jetta brand will also target overseas markets, starting with Central Asia.

Founded in 1991, the joint venture now produces Audi, Volkswagen and Jetta models, and has five production bases in Changchun, Foshan, Chengdu, Qingdao and Tianjin.