VW to spend more than $3.3 billion through 2020 on U.S. model expansion

DETROIT (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to spend more than $3.3 billion (2.40 billion pounds) on development and production of new models in North America from 2018 to 2020 as the German group reboots operations in the world's second-largest auto market.

Some $1.2 billion of the planned investments are destined for the United States where Volkswagen in 2018 will launch a redesigned version of its top-selling Jetta compact sedan and the all-new Arteon fastback, it said on Sunday.

"We want to gain market share and grow from a niche player to a truly relevant brand in the United States," Hinrich Woebcken, chief executive of VW's North America business, said on Sunday at the Detroit auto show.

The world's largest automaker has been seeking to revive its business in the United States where its diesel emissions scandal broke in September 2015. VW said it planned to launch at least two new models in the United States as it aims to break even in terms of operating profits in North America by 2020.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Peter Cooney)