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Baird, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China), said at a media conference on January 25th that Volkswagen Anhui will launch its first model for the Chinese market this year, and Audi FAW New Energy will officially put into production its first model, Audi Q6L e-tron, at the end of the year. The medium-sized car jointly developed by Volkswagen brand and Xiaopeng Motor, which belongs to the Chinese market, will be unveiled in 2026. By 2027, the group will provide 30 locally produced fuel vehicles and plug-in hybrid models. By 2030, Volkswagen Group will offer at least 30 pure electric models in the Chinese market. In the field of fuel vehicles, all major fuel models will be transformed to new energy vehicles.

Volkswagen has been the No. 1 brand in China for more than 20 years in a row and was overtaken by BYD in 2023. According to retail data, the BYD brand sold 2.5695 million vehicles in 2023, making it the No. 1 brand in the Chinese market, followed by the Volkswagen brand, which retailed 2.2251 million vehicles for the year, while the Toyota brand ranked third with 1.6755 million.

The tide of the electric era is surging, the design of dolls, outdated style, intelligence can not keep up with the mainstream of the market, so that Volkswagen fuel cars have no advantages. Under this background, the electric transformation of Volkswagen is imminent, and it also makes Volkswagen see the necessity and feasibility of opening the "second curve" in China. From the current market layout of Volkswagen, whether it is internal self-evolution, or external cooperation is to stay in the Chinese market as much as possible, but it is not so easy for this huge ship to reach the other side quickly.

Data show that Volkswagen Group delivered a total of 3.236 million vehicles in China in 2023, an increase of 1.6% over the same period last year, and remains the largest single market in the world. Among them, the annual delivery volume of pure electric models was 192000, an increase of 23.2% over the same period last year. For Volkswagen Group, fuel cars are its base in China, and it is clear that it will not stop producing fuel vehicles at this stage. "Volkswagen Group will still produce fuel models until 2027. Volkswagen Group will also provide 30 locally produced fuel and hybrid models by 2027." It is understood that the Volkswagen brand will launch new Maiteng / Passat, new Tuguan L, new Polo, new golf and other fuel vehicles in 2023.

At the same time, Volkswagen Group is constantly looking for new opportunities. On July 26, 2023, Volkswagen Group announced that Volkswagen brand and Xiaopeng Motor signed a technical framework agreement for long-term cooperation. At the beginning of the cooperation, the two sides will jointly develop two Volkswagen brand electric models aimed at the medium-sized car market in China to complement the product portfolio based on the MEB platform, and plan to enter the market in 2026. At the same time, Volkswagen will invest about $700 million in Xiaopeng. Volkswagen will buy a 4.99% stake in Xiaopeng at a price of $15 per ADS and will have an observer seat on its board of directors.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of the cooperation, Volkswagen Group established Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd. (VCTV) to become Xiaopeng's partner, which is currently developing its first electric vehicle platform dedicated to the Chinese market, namely CMP. From 2026, the platform will lay the foundation for new entry-level models for the A-class mainstream market.

In this regard, he Xiaopeng, CEO of Xiaopeng Automobile, said that through cooperation, Xiaopeng will bring changes to Volkswagen in terms of localization and intelligence, while Xiaopeng will learn from Volkswagen automotive engineering technology, production quality management system, and the experience of how to reduce costs through the supply chain to jointly develop soft-hard products in China.

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