Volkswagen's expect its Audi division to sell approximately half a million cars this year in China, according to a report by Reuters.

The German automaker also expects raise the number of its dealers in the biggest automaker in the world to 500 by 2017.

VW hopes that car sales will top 500,000 in 2014, executives said to reporters this week before the Beijing Auto Show.

The Beijing Auto Show opens April 20.

Automakers like General Motors and Toyota Motor have been battling in China, where "rising affluence is boosting car ownership," according to Reuters.

"This country has an increasing number of mega cities," Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said, according to Reuters.

Stadler named Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai as examples.

"In these three areas, there are as many people as, for example, in Germany," he added.

Audi sold 488,000 vehicles in China in 2013, and a total of 492,000 including Hong Kong.

China's auto market could grow somewhere between 8-10 percent by the end of 2014, a slight decline from last year when it increased 13.9 percent to 21.98 million vehicles.

Once Audi started production of the A3 sportback vehicle at its Foshan factory, deliveries increased 11.7 percent to 412,850 cars, according to Reuters.

See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?