Nov. 22, 2017—Volkswagen will invest more than $12 billion with its partners to make and develop a range of new-energy vehicles in China as carmakers step up investments in low-emission models in the world’s biggest auto market, according to Bloomberg.
Volkswagen will make the investments by 2025 and introduce 40 locally produced vehicles, its China head Jochem Heizmann told reporters.
The European automaker’s venture with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group will start production of electric vehicles in the first half of next year, while sales will start in the second half.
The German manufacturer joins Ford Motor Co. in boosting investments in electric-vehicle development in China as the country will require most automakers to produce various types of zero- and low-emission vehicles.
The China plans are part of a broader push by Volkswagen, which in September announced a 20 billion-euro plan to build electric versions of all 300 models in the 12-brand group’s lineup.
In May, VW received a green light from the government to set up a joint venture with the state-owned Anhui Jianghuai to make electric cars. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company sold 2.5 million vehicles in China in the first 10 months.
VW has previously said it plans to sell 400,000 new-energy vehicles a year by 2020 and increase that number to 1.5 million by 2025.
VW will introduce 15 models based on its MQB platform, converting internal combustion engine cars into plug-in hybrid or pure-electric versions, said Heizmann. The rest of the models will be developed on new platforms, he said.
