Volkswagen teams up with Xpeng to develop 2 electric cars as it hopes to regain lost ground in the world’s largest EV market

Name: Chinese XPeng electric car can drive and park by itself
Uploaded: 2024-02-29T04:46:23.000Z
Duration: 2 min 18 s
Description: Chinese XPeng electric car can drive and park by itself

The first model to hit the mainland market will be an intelligent sport-utility vehicle, according to Volkswagen

It comes after VW paid US$700 million for a 4.99 per cent stake in Guangzhou-based Xpeng last year

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The CEO recently told his 4,000 employees in a letter that Xpeng will spend a record 3.5 billion yuan (US$486.5 million) this year on the development of intelligent cars. Photo: Xinhua

Daniel Renin Shanghai

Published: 12:46pm, 29 Feb 2024

Volkswagen Group has signed an agreement with Chinese electric car maker Xpeng to jointly develop two mid-sized battery-powered vehicles for the highly competitive mainland market in 2026, the companies announced on Thursday.

The new electric vehicles (EVs), bearing the VW badge, will be designed and built based on joint purchasing activities and sharing of technologies that will reduce the development time by more than 30 per cent, the German carmaker said in a statement.

The agreement comes after VW completed a US$700 million investment to obtain a 4.99 per cent stake in Guangzhou-based Xpeng, an EV builder well known for its autonomous driving technology, last year.

“In the world’s largest and fastest-growing EV market, speed is fundamental when it comes to tapping into promising market segments,” Volkswagen’s China chief executive Ralf Brandsatter said in the statement.

“Through the partnership with Xpeng, we are not only accelerating development times, but also boosting efficiency and optimising cost structures. This increases the economic competitiveness in a highly price-sensitive market environment significantly.”

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Chinese XPeng electric car can drive and park by itself

The German carmaker added in the statement that its supply chain would be tapped to provide cost advantages, and the first model to hit the mainland market would be an intelligent sport-utility vehicle (SUV).