German automaker Volkswagen has inked an agreement with Chinese joint venture partner SAIC Motor for expanding its main Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) plant in Anting for electric vehicle production in China.
The agreement was inked between Volkswagen Group China president and CEO Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann and SAIC Motor president Chen Zhixin.
The initiative is being billed as the localization of electric vehicles by Volkswagen Group in China gradually through phases.
Heizmann said: "Today's agreement lays the foundation for the further expansion of our commitment to Chinese society and the environment.
"We have been at home in China for more than 30 years. Over the next four years, we plan to localize more than 15 different electric vehicle models in China, including plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles."
A car based on Volkswagen's Chinese Lavida is in the offing for the Anting plant, west of Shanghai, in the next four years, which will be the maiden electric vehicle from the unit. A new Volkswagen C-segment model will also be made at the Anting plant next year.
These agreements fall under the total investment plan worth €22bn in China by Volkswagen in association with its joint ventures by 2019.
With the production of electric vehicles and components, Volkswagen will also boost initiatives for research and development in China which would be extended to fuel cells and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft chairman of the board of management Dr. Martin Winterkorn said: "Volkswagen is a strong motor for the high-tech location China. Together with our long-standing partner SAIC, we are consistently forging ahead with advanced, environmentally compatible technologies. With these technologies, we will shape the automobile future of China. One of the main emphases is on electro-mobility."
Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, both of them joint ventures of Volkswagen Group, has supplied 3.7 million vehicles in the Chinese market in 2014, notching up a rise of 12.4% as against previous year.
The automobile major has 29 vehicle and component manufacturing units in China.
