Volkswagen with a large investment – THE SHAREHOLDER

Volkswagen is investing a further 2.5 billion euros in China to expand its development site in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, the Wolfsburg-based carmaker announced on Thursday. But is that enough to close the gap to China’s market leader BYD?

In addition to the expansion, additional production capacity will be created for the construction of two vehicle models that VW is developing together with Chinese manufacturer XPeng. The first of the two vehicles, a mid-range SUV, is scheduled to roll off the assembly line from 2026. China chief Ralf Brandstätter said the new production and development site in the city of Hefei in Anhui province will bring the technology to market maturity. about 30 percent faster.

VW was the market leader in China for a long time, but had to give up this position to its Chinese competitor BYD last year. The Wolfsburg-based company has announced a series of new electric vehicles it plans to produce. The group is initially preparing for the dry season.

Finance chief Arno Antlitz said in January that Volkswagen had introduced measures to improve competition. “Until then, we do not expect market shares to increase in the next two years, on the contrary.”