Volkswagen wants to expand both its higher-end and lower-end offering in the Chinese market, China chief Ralf Brandstaetter said on Monday, calling the country's high-paced, competitive market a "giant fitness center for the industry."

"We don't want to give up this competition - we want to participate," Brandstaetter said at a media roundtable. Asked if the carmaker aspired to remain the number 1 foreign carmaker in China in the electric era, he said: "We want to play a leading role... the cards are being mixed anew." (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz Editing by Paul Carrel)