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German carmaker Volkswagen has concentrated its research and development of pure trams in China to Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "VCTC") in Anhui, according to several media reports. This round of adjustments will further integrate China's pure tram research and development into VCTC, and a large number of personnel will be transferred to VCTC or other businesses, while the Beijing R & D Center has retained some hybrid project development. According to the report, the new cars developed by VCTC in the future will be produced and sold by three joint ventures: Volkswagen, SAIC-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen.

In January, Volkswagen officials said that VCTC, which focuses on intelligent networked electric vehicles, is the largest R & D center of Volkswagen Group outside Germany and the core R & D organization of Volkswagen Group (China). It plays a key role in the development of local models in China and will build the group's first electric vehicle platform dedicated to the Chinese market. This move by Volkswagen is also regarded by the industry as an important symbol of the acceleration of Volkswagen's new energy business in China.

According to public data, Volkswagen Group, founded in 1938 and headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, is one of the largest car companies in Europe and the first multinational car company to enter the Chinese market. Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd. was established in May 2023, located in Hefei, Anhui Province, the legal representative is THOMAS ULBRICH, the enterprise registered capital of 3.75 billion yuan, paid-in capital of 100 million yuan. Ownership structure information shows that Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd. is wholly owned by Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG.

Since 2023, Volkswagen Group has accelerated the process of electrification of layout, especially in the Chinese market. In April of that year, Volkswagen announced a major investment of about 10 euros to set up a new company, the new company project name "100%TechCo", will cover vehicle development, parts development and procurement functions, the establishment of the new company will shorten the product development cycle by about 30%. Han Hongming, chief technology officer of Volkswagen Group (China), will take up the post of CEO of the new company and will have more than 2000 employees in procurement and research and development in the future. At present, the chief executive officer of the company is Wu Bolui. From April 1 this year, Volkswagen China announced that Thomas Ulbrich, a member of the management board of the Volkswagen brand in charge of the "new mobile travel" business, would succeed Marcus Hafkemeyer in charge of the group's research and development in China, promote the localization of the group's product portfolio in China, and serve as chief executive of VCTC.

As to why the new technology company was set up, Obom, chairman of the management board of Volkswagen Group, said in an interview with the media that the establishment of the company saw the rapid development of the Chinese auto market. Volkswagen wants to run faster and faster in the new track competition like an athlete.

In November 2023, Volkswagen China announced that VCTC would launch an electric vehicle platform for the entry market within three years. At present, VCTC is developing CMP, the first electric vehicle platform dedicated to the Chinese market. The development cycle of the platform takes 36 months, which is about 1/3 shorter than the previous platform development cycle of Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen will launch 140000-170000 yuan of Volkswagen A-class entry-level pure electric models in the Chinese market in the next 36 months.

As the earliest electric transformation, Volkswagen, which invested a lot, although it maintains a firm attitude towards pure electric transformation, like most traditional car companies, Volkswagen is also facing the pains of electric transformation. China has become the world's largest market for new energy vehicles, which is extremely important to Volkswagen, which is the main reason why Volkswagen continues to deepen the Chinese market. Volkswagen China CEO Baird said in April that speed is very important if you want to maintain a leading position in the Chinese market, because the iteration of new and old models in the domestic market is very fast, the generation is changed every three years, the structure is upgraded every two years, and the vehicle OTA is updated every month, so Volkswagen China must also keep up with the pace.

The development cycle of CMP, the first electric vehicle platform exclusively for the Chinese market, developed by VCTC is about 1/3 shorter than that of Volkswagen Group. It is understood that the platform will adopt battery, electric drive and motor solutions for the Chinese market, and Volkswagen will develop pure electric models tailored to the needs of Chinese customers on the basis of the platform. According to the plan, from 2026, Volkswagen will develop pure electric models tailored to the needs of Chinese customers based on the platform. However, at present, the car market is undergoing an unprecedented reshuffle, and the iteration of new and old models is very fast, Volkswagen may have to accelerate.

According to the plan, Volkswagen Group plans to launch 30 locally produced fuel and hybrid models in 2027, and Volkswagen China will provide at least 30 pure electric models in the Chinese market by 2030. Volkswagen Group will then become the top three auto companies in China.

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