Volkswagen Anhui has started production of the Cupra Tavascan for export to Europe, and another Volkswagen-branded model for the Chinese market will roll off the production line in 2024.
(Cupra Tavascan shown on the Cupra website.)
Volkswagen Anhui, the Chinese joint venture majority-owned by German carmaker Volkswagen, has begun production of its first model to capitalize on the strengths of the local industry chain to build electric vehicles (EVs) for European and Chinese consumers.
Volkswagen Anhui has recently launched production of the Cupra Tavascan, a pure electric model for export to the European market, and another Volkswagen-branded model for the Chinese market will roll off the assembly line in 2024, according to a report in Anhui Daily today.
Volkswagen Anhui, a joint venture between Volkswagen and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC) established in 2017, is Volkswagen’s first joint venture in China focused on EVs.
The company was initially called Jianghuai Volkswagen Automobile, and in late 2020, Volkswagen increased its stake in the company to 75 percent and had the company renamed Volkswagen Anhui.
Volkswagen Anhui built Volkswagen’s third MEB (modular electric drive matrix) plant in China and will build all-electric vehicles based on the platform. The plant broke ground in April 2021 and began installing equipment in March 2022.
Cupra, a sub-brand of Volkswagen’s SEAT brand, unveiled the Tavascan concept in 2019 based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform.
(A car chassis from the MEB platform shown on the Volkswagen Anhui website.)
Volkswagen will export China-built EVs to the European market, citing limited capacity in its home market, according to a December 2, 2022 Bloomberg report.
Volkswagen has been present in China for 40 years with two joint ventures, SAIC-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, which have been hugely successful in the fuel-car era. These two JVs are building the VW ID. series of EVs.
Volkswagen plans to invest a total of RMB 23.1 billion yuan ($3.25 billion) in Anhui, and in addition to Volkswagen Anhui, it has several other subsidiaries in the eastern Chinese province, the Anhui Daily report noted.
Volkswagen’s parts company in Anhui is its first wholly owned battery system plant in China, with the first high-voltage battery system officially going into production in November 2023, according to the report.
The Volkswagen parts company will also start production of CTP (cell-to-pack) battery packs based on standard cells developed in collaboration with local Anhui power battery maker Gotion High-tech.
For Volkswagen, Hefei of Anhui is not only a production base, but also its first global center for new energy vehicle R&D, innovation, and component sourcing outside of its headquarters in Germany, the Anhui Daily report noted.
($1 = RMB 7.0999)
Analysts expect Volkswagen’s joint venture with JAC to be its new growth pole in China
