Volkswagen extends cooperation with China joint venture partner FAW Group for 25 more years; enhanced R&D on alt drive systems
10 October 2014
After 20 years of cooperation, the Volkswagen Group and its Chinese joint venture partner First Automotive Works (FAW) are extending their present partnership for a further 25 years—i.e., until the year 2041. In addition, the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC are investing in the Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) proving ground in Xinjiang province, western China.
Both agreements were signed in Berlin in the presence of Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China; Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany; and Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG. A joint memorandum concluded with the Chinese Ministry of Education concerning cooperation in the field of vocational training was signed yesterday in Wolfsburg.
Based on the extended cooperation, Volkswagen and FAW will be able to expand significantly their existing research and development activities in China and move into new business areas in the coming years, above all in the field of alternative drive technologies.
Volkswagen is further expanding its activities in western China, and is joining up with the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC to invest some €100 million ($126 million) in a new proving ground in the Xinjiang region to test models from Shanghai Volkswagen. The facility will be built to the south east of the Urumqi plant commissioned in August 2013. Heizmann and Chen Zhixin, President of SAIC Motor Corporation, also signed a joint agreement to this effect.
Under the memorandum on cooperation in the field of vocational training, the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese government are undertaking to expand the dual vocational training system in China. Plans include nine centers of competence for teacher training and for teaching programs that closely link theory and practice in line with the German vocational training principle. These educational facilities will specialize in tooling, automation technology, bodyshell technology and automotive technology as well as pedagogy. The first centers have already been set up in Changchun and Yizheng.
The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful companies in the Chinese automobile industry. Together with its joint venture partners SAIC and FAW, the Volkswagen Group builds models from the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and ŠKODA brands for the Chinese market. Vehicle production includes engines and components manufactured locally by the Group and its partners.
In total, the Volkswagen Group has a presence at 17 production locations in China comprising eight vehicle sites and nine component sites. Shanghai Volkswagen has already announced the building of a new factory in Changsha to expand vehicle production capacity. Furthermore, FAW-Volkswagen is to construct two new production plants in Qingdao and Tianjin.
In the first three quarters of this year, Volkswagen Group China together with its Chinese joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen delivered more than 2.7 million vehicles, an increase of 15.2% on the comparable prior-year period. This accounts for more than one-third (36.5%) of the group’s total worldwide deliveries of 7.4 million vehicles during the same period.
Wise move by VW to go where major future markets are to move to first place by or before 2020.
Joint ventures and plants in India may also be required.
Posted by: HarveyD | 10 October 2014 at 11:26 AM
Im sure that they do researchs in technologies that will never appear on the market and they do patents to impede anyone from commercializing it. They already know how to make 200 mpg cars on regular gasoline or diesel with few pollution, they know how to do hydrogen at 50 cents a kilo, they know how to construct cheap fuelcell that last 100 years without platinum, they know how to produce electricity at 1 cent kwh without depleting ressources without pollution. They know how to clean the air in their big houses.
With all this money spend on researchs and million of scientists working at it worldwide it's clear that everuthing is invented but the drawback is known patents and commercialization. Every thing is impeded by the oldest invention in the domain of energy crude oil and coal, this is still these products that bring the more money. At first is powered oil lamps and steam boats and locomotives and now big Ferraris and rolls royces for the rich that now pollute the air so much that half the Asians wear masks when they go outside.
That's the reason why I bought the cheapest small gasoline car made in 2005 , because I didn't want to encourage them. Since that corrupt goverments tried to corrupt me with the cash for clunker fraudulent sheme. Im sure that half the chaps here had big suv in 2005 and they bought costly green cars since with taxpayer money
Posted by: gorr | 10 October 2014 at 07:02 PM
INDIAN CIVILISATION WAS SUSTAINABLE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS BECAUSE IT WAS GREEN TECH AND TOTALLY ALIGNED TO NATURE UNTIL WEST AND ISLAMIC INFLUENCE CAME IN.IT IS TIME WEST GOES TOTALLY TO GREEN TECH AND RECYCLE TECH FOR SUSTAINED LIFE STYLE. IF CHINA AND INDIA START CONSUMING LIKE USA WORLD WILL DIE OF POLLUTION AND WILL RUN OUT OF RESOURCES.
Posted by: Nirmalkumar | 10 October 2014 at 09:39 PM