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.
Foreign car makers admitted an economic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy had taken its toll, but said the market was simply too big -- and important -- to ignore.
“The market will increase less than in former years, but still much higher than in any other relevant automotive market in the world,” President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, Jochem Heizmann, told reporters on Sunday. “It’s still a tremendous market.”
Vehicle sales in the mainland reached 23.49 million last year, well ahead of the United States, which it overtook in 2009. But annual sales growth halved to 6.9 per cent last year from 13.9 per cent in 2013, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
The slowdown continued in the first three months of this year, when sales rose just 3.9 per cent.
Ford is introducing seven new vehicles in Shanghai, including two SUVs and the Taurus, intended to be its flagship sedan for the mainland market.
But the “premier” car segment -- which sells for $33,000 to $197,000 -- and the even more pricey luxury market have been slammed by the economic slowdown as well as a more than two-year campaign to crack down on corruption and government waste.
That did not stop Britain’s Rolls-Royce from unveiling the new Phantom Limelight in Shanghai for the show, with features including leather-covered accessory boxes and handmade fragrance holders.
With additional reporting by Agence France Presse