VW has announced that it aims to produce over 11 million electric vehicles in China by 2028, which will be over half of the Group’s total global output, as it plans to become the leading player in the largest EV market.
At the first World New Energy Event Vehicle Congress in the Chinese city of Boao, Volkswagen AG CEO Dr Herbert Diess discussed the Group’s strategy for China, where it will commit to owning a 50% share of the country’s electric vehicle market.
By 2020, VW will offer 14 electrified models to China and will continue to strengthen its position with more EVs planned, as well as the investment in local R&D with more than 4,500 engineers working on future technologies to transform the landscape of electro mobility.
“The Chinese car market is of vital importance for Volkswagen’s e-offensive. We want to expand our leadership role through local partnerships and increased R&D work in the country,” said Dr Diess.
“China also relies on emission-free mobility under its clear commitment to the goals of Paris. In this transformation, we are playing a key role in providing a comprehensive range of e-vehicles and strengthening the private charging infrastructure.”
Last year, more than one million plug-in hybrids and purely battery-powered vehicles were sold. This makes China the world’s largest market for electric vehicles. The government is supporting e-mobility through comprehensive initiatives such as the expansion of the charging infrastructure and low electricity costs. In addition, more renewable energy is being harnessed to generate electricity.
Joint ventures will play an important role in delivering VW’s plans, with FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen and JAC Volkswagen all working on producing electric vehicles in the country. The Group’s modular MEB platform will also help as it is able to roll out electrification to a range of models without the requirement to engineer individual platforms for each model.
With a new joint venture, Volkswagen is aiming to improve the charging infrastructure in China to support the increasing number of EV adoption. As part of the cooperation between Star Charge, FAW and JAC, private wallboxes will be available from the end of this year and a large number of publicly available charging stations will be set up.
