Volkswagen is striving for the lead in electric mobility in China. This goal was endorsed by the CEO of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Herbert Diess, at the first World New Energy Vehicle Congress in the southern Chinese city of Boao. The Boao Consensus, which describes the strategic results of the congress, foresees electric cars accounting for 50% of annual global car sales by 2035.
At the congress, Herbert Diess emphasised the important role of the automotive industry on the way to fulfilling the Paris Climate Agreement, "China also relies on emission-free mobility under its clear commitment to the goals of Paris. In this transformation, we are playing a key role in providing a comprehensive range of electric vehicles and strengthening the private charging infrastructure."
Last year, more than one million plug-in hybrids and purely battery-powered vehicles were sold. This makes China the world's largest market for electric cars. The government is supporting e-mobility through comprehensive initiatives such as the expansion of the charging infrastructure and low electricity costs. In addition, more renewable energy is being harnessed to generate electricity.
As soon as the SAIC Volkswagen plant in Anting and FAW-Volkswagen plant in Foshan start producing MEB-based vehicles next year, the production capacity alone will be around 600,000 pure-electric vehicles per year. In addition, JAC and SEAT are also developing their own platform for smaller electric cars.
The ecological footprint is also to be further improved in all 33 Chinese production facilities of Volkswagen and its partners. In the past year alone, the CO2 emissions of the Chinese plants were reduced by 13%, saving 390,000 tons of CO2.
