Volkswagen and SAIC Motor Corporation Limited have entered an agreement to fully localize Volkswagen Groups’ electric vehicles in China.
According to the automaker, over the next 4 years, the company plans to localize more than 15 different electric vehicle models in China, including plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles.
With the development and local production of electric vehicles and components, the German automaker is taking the next step in the further expansion of its research and development expertise in the country. Research activities in the field of fuel-cells and plug-in hybrid vehicles are to be intensified as well.
It was also agreed that a new C-segment model of the Volkswagen brand would be produced at the Anting plant, to the west of Shanghai, from 2016. In about 4 years time, a new electric vehicle model based on Volkswagen’s Chinese bestseller, the Lavida, is due to roll off the production line at the Anting plant– this will be the first fully electric vehicle produced at the plant.
These agreements form part of the total investment of €22 billion in China planned by the Volkswagen Group together with its joint ventures by 2019. The largest investment program in the Chinese automobile industry to date is to be funded from the cash flow of the joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen.
Together with its joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, the Volkswagen Group delivered a total of 3.7 million vehicles in China in 2014, representing an increase of 12.4% over the previous year. The Volkswagen Group has 20 vehicle and component production locations in China.
Source: Volkwagen
