Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, with the Volkswagen Golf GTE at Auto China 2014 Group Night
in Beijing. (Credit: Volkswagen AG)
According to Volkswagen CEO Prof. Dr. Winterkorn, the company will be “launching the biggest initiative for e-mobility in China’s automotive history.”
The initiative gets underway with the launch this year of the Volkswagen brand’s electric up! and e-Golf models.
While the Porsche Panamera S E-hybrid is already in the showrooms in China, the Group will be launching two further plug-in hybrid vehicles there next year with the Audi A3 e-tron and the Golf GTE. Starting in 2016, this will be followed by two models developed specially for the Chinese market: These are the Audi A6 and a new mid-size limousine from the Volkswagen brand, both plug-in hybrids which are being developed together with the joint venture partners FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen and will be produced locally.
“All these vehicles are highly efficient and eco-friendly. And at the same time they offer lots of driving pleasure. That is exactly what people all over the world and here in China expect of the Volkswagen Group. Thanks to the modular strategy, which is also being implemented at our Chinese factories, we can electrify nearly every model in our range: From small cars to large sedans, from pure electric drives to plug-in hybrids,” said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.
According to the company’s press-release, two joint venture partners FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen are investing more than ever before in new vehicles and drives, green technologies and resource-efficient plants. €18.2 billion (≈$25.15 billion) will be invested up to 2018. As Winterkorn commented: “Our team of over 2,700 engineers in China and our partners are working together on pioneering technologies, and we are banking on China’s innovative power.”
Winterkorn also said that “China is the Volkswagen Group’s largest single market and plays a key role in our Strategy 2018. For 2014, we have once again set our sights on double-digit growth in China and are aiming to deliver over 3.5 million vehicles to customers for the first time in a calendar year.”
