'Our situation is not pleasing but it is not radically bad,' Mr Martin Winterkorn told the German newspaper in an interview to be published on Monday.

The global market would likely see a slump in sales of almost 20 per cent in 2009, he said.

Volkswagen has said it would consider suspending production at its main Wolfsburg plant from Dec 18 to Jan 11 in reaction to the weaker market.

But unlike competitors including Daimler and BMW, Mr Winterkorn said Volkswagen had no plans to shorten working hours at its factories.

He reiterated that the carmaker expected its sales, revenue and profit this year to come in above the 2007 level, though he confirmed that the company would not be able to meet its growth targets for 2009.

'Originally the global market was expected to be at 62 million new vehicles. The most recent forecasts now see about 51 million vehicles,' he said.

Automobilwoche magazine cited a source as saying Volkswagen plans to discuss at an internal management conference on Thursday possible further cost-cutting measures.

In an article also due to be published on Monday, the magazine said Volkswagen was reviewing production plans for its factories in Chattanooga in the United States, in Pune, India and Kaluga, Russia.

Mr Winterkorn told Sueddeutsche Zeitung that he expected that it could take two to three years until the economic slump passed.

'Right now, nobody can say whether there will be stagnation or an increase in sales in 2010,' he said. -- REUTERS