Update | Volkswagen to produce 'green' cars in China as premier auto show kicks off

German carmaker Volkswagen plans to localise production of 15 new  ‘green’ models in China in the next four years,  its China head said on Sunday.

Models that are to be produced in China would include purely electric and hybrid cars as well, Jochem Heizmann, China chief executive of Volkswagen said. The localisation plan was an effort to maintain “sustainable quality growth at home in China,”  he said on Sunday.  The market has been changing with increasing demand for green vehicles, he said.

“For Volkswagen, it’s much more than sales and returns, it’s a better future,” Heizmann said.

The production of Volkswagen’s new energy cars would be localised in China step by step and would include auto parts and modules, said Heizn-jakob Neuser, a Volkswagen board member responsible for technology development. Volkswagen, which produces cars in China in partnership with SAIC Motor and the FAW Group, last year sold 3.67 million cars in China, an increase of 12.4 per cent.

Heizmann said the group plans to plans to invest 22 billion euros until 2019 with its joint-venture partners. “We will also add 30,000 jobs until 2019 in China,” he said, with the total workforce to reach 120,000.

Audi, the premium brand of Volkswagen, was planning more new energy car models in China with its new plug-in hybrid model, Q7 E-tron SUV, to hit dealers in the second half of next year, said board chairman Rupert Stadler. “Audi will continue to contribute to the improvement of air quality and sustainable mobility in China,” he said.

Global car makers showed off hundreds of vehicles in  the mainland commercial hub Shanghai on Monday, as the world’s biggest auto market continues to attract despite a sharp deceleration in sales growth.