Manufacturers highlight Chinese market as crucial for e-mobility

17 April 2019

China is to play a key role in Volkswagen (VW) Group’s efforts to transform itself into an electric vehicle (EV) market leader.

VW Group China aims to produce more than half of the group’s global objective of 22 million EVs by 2028. To speed up its e-offensive, it will also launch a new joint venture in charging infrastructure.

′We are fulfilling our promises, not only to comply with the new regulations in China but also to reduce the auto industry’s impact on our society through clean mobility and better production processes. For this plan, China is of great importance, stated Herbert Diess, Chairman of VW Group, at the Shanghai motor show.

The Group aims to produce 11.6 million EVs in China by 2028, with initiatives through all three of its joint ventures in the country, FAW Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen and JAC Volkswagen, enabling the target to be reached.

With construction progressing on MEB platforms at SAIC VOLKSWAGEN in Anting and FAW-Volkswagen in Foshan, Volkswagen will have the technical capacity to produce an additional 600,000 pure electric vehicles a year in China when the two plants become operational next year, the company said.

In addition, the JAC Volkswagen joint venture is jointly working on its e-car platform together with SEAT for the production of smaller urban EVs.

VW also states that further e-mobility focus is on the provision of the necessary infrastructure, with a new charging joint venture to be set up that will result in greater freedom and recharging convenience for the rapidly growing number of Chinese EV owners during their travels. The partnership with Star Charge, FAW and JAC will offer private charging wall boxes from the end of this year and a wide network of public charging.

Japanese dream

Meanwhile, Toyota has premiered its C-HR and IZOA battery electric vehicle (BEVs) in Shanghai. These two models will be the first to launch in the country with full electric power, with sales starting next year.

Toyota plans to roll out more than ten BEV models globally during the first half of the 2020s, and is moving steadily forward to popularise electrified vehicles, setting a sales target of more than 5.5 million electrified vehicles globally by 2030, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on fuel cell electric vehicles, an area that Toyota is also investing in, executive vice president Moritaka Yoshida stated, ′Since 2017, Toyota has been conducting demonstration tests with the Mirai in China. We are considering the local introduction of other fuel cell vehicles such as the FC Coaster.’