VW, SAIC will build electric cars in Anting plant
Volkswagen AG signed an agreement with partner SAIC Motor Corp. to produce electric cars at their assembly plant in Anting, west of Shanghai.
The joint venture, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., will produce an electric vehicle based on the Volkswagen Lavida, a popular model in China.
The electric car will go into production about four years from now, Volkswagen said Wednesday.
That plant in Anting also will produce a new -- and as-yet unidentified -- C-segment model for the VW brand.
The new models are part of a 22 billion euro investment planned in China by Volkswagen Group and its partners through 2019. The investment will be funded with cash flow from the two joint ventures, Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen.
Last year, Volkswagen's two joint ventures sold 3.7 million vehicles in China, an increase of 12 percent over 2013. While the company is investing heavily to expand production and add new models, sales growth has tailed off in 2015.
Last month, Shanghai Volkswagen opened an assembly plant in Changsha that eventually will produce 300,000 units a year. Yet, VW's China sales in the first four months rose only 0.2 percent to 1.19 million vehicles.
The electric car will go into production about four years from now, Volkswagen said Wednesday.
That plant in Anting also will produce a new -- and as-yet unidentified -- C-segment model for the VW brand.
The new models are part of a 22 billion euro investment planned in China by Volkswagen Group and its partners through 2019. The investment will be funded with cash flow from the two joint ventures, Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen.
Last year, Volkswagen's two joint ventures sold 3.7 million vehicles in China, an increase of 12 percent over 2013. While the company is investing heavily to expand production and add new models, sales growth has tailed off in 2015.
Last month, Shanghai Volkswagen opened an assembly plant in Changsha that eventually will produce 300,000 units a year. Yet, VW's China sales in the first four months rose only 0.2 percent to 1.19 million vehicles.
