..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
Volkswagen announced plans to increase its use of Chinese parts suppliers in the highly competitive Chinese electric car market in hopes of reducing costs.
The German carmaking giant hopes to produce vehicles “in China, for China,” Ralf Brandstätter, a member of the VW Group’s board responsible for China, said during a visit to the eastern Chinese city of Hefei.
“We are striving for an autonomous, controllable value chain,” Brandstätter said.
A shift to Chinese suppliers in the Chinese market would also help insulate Volkswagen from potential issues in the market with imports or exports, including international sanctions stemming from major crises like the war in Ukraine.
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza are affecting the Chinese economy, Brandstätter said during his visit.
According to Brandstätter, the Wolfsburg-based company wants to produce modular electric vehicles and neighbourhood electric vehicles (NEVs) “in China, for China.”
NEVs are small battery-powered passenger vehicles with a low maximum speed.
VW plans to shift the development of vehicle components from Germany to Hefei to reduce costs and time.
“We have learned that you can’t do this from 8,000 kilometres away with a six-hour time difference,” Marcus Hafkemeyer, the VW manager responsible for research and development, said in Hefei.
Although VW is a leading seller of combustion-engine vehicles in China, the company has fallen behind local Chinese competitors in electric vehicle sales.
