IG Metall union exec sees good H2 for VW - paper

HAMBURG, Germany, July 3 (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) is set to outperform rivals in the second half after beating them in the first half, an IG Metall union official who sits on VW's supervisory board was quoted as saying.

"We expect the boom in orders to continue in the second half, thanks in part to the German government's scrapping subsidy," Hartmut Meine was quoted as saying by the VDI Nachrichten industry newspaper.

"For 2010 we expect western European markets to stabilise because other countries are adopting these subsidies."

Demand for small cars has swelled thanks to the incentive to scap cars older than nine years and buy new ones, helping VW take market share from companies like Daimler (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) that focus on premium cars.

Meine said the favourable situation at Europe's biggest carmaker was underscored by the fact that short working hours were ending at the company's commercial vehicles plant in Hanover after the summer break.

"In the other plants there are no short hours and that is the big difference to other German carmakers," he said.

VW has said fewer than 1,000 German staff were working shortened hours now, a step taken to reflect weak demand amid the financial crisis.

Meine, VW labour's senior wage negotiator, defended demands for a pay rise of at least 4.2 percent under the next in-house contract to be negotiated. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Michael Shields; Editing by Dan Lalor)