VW Group speeds up production cycle with ‘In China, for China’ strategy
VW Group has delivered its first vehicle off the production line through its “In China, for China” strategy, with the ID.UNYX 08 having been developed in just 24 months and now entering series production.
The ID.UNYX 08 model is the OEM’s first fully connected all-electric full-size SUV. Series production has begun in Hefei, eastern China as part of VW Group’s “In China, for China” strategy, in partnership with Chinese OEM XPeng. Taking only two years since the start of the partnership, it marks a rapid advance in the product cycle.
“On average, the VW Group is launching one new electric car every two weeks this year,” said Ralf Branstätter, chairman and CEO of VW Group China. “That’s ‘China Speed’.”
The carmaker said the linchpin of this progress is the integration into the local supply chain through strategic, targeted partnerships, and the reinforcement of local R&D capabilities.
VW Group entered into a long-term partnership with XPeng in 2023, focusing on product development and technological innovation at scale. Following this model, the second all-electric vehicle through the partnership will hit the market within this year, according to VW Group.
The Volkswagen Group China Company (VCTC), the group’s biggest R&D centre outside Germany, was established in 2023 to help VW Group to fully integrate itself into China’s supply chain and to customise products faster to meet the needs of Chinese customers. While integrating local innovations with this model, the VCTC acted as development partner for XPeng and led the product design and quality standards to ensure the model upholds VW Group’s “DNA of rigorous quality, safety and hallmark driving experience”.
Through becoming embedded in the local supply chain by way of partnerships with local groups like XPeng, VW Group is achieving faster supply chain logistics and planning, leading to a compression in the time it takes for a product development cycle. This quickening of product cycles has been driven by disruption in recent years, requiring OEMs to compress timelines and react more quickly to adapt to risk and stay competitive.
Alongside XPeng and VW Group’s software centre CARIAD China, the VCTC has developed Volkswagen’s first locally engineered zonal electrical and electronic architecture, the China Electronic Architecture (CEA). The architecture will cover NEVs and fuel-powered vehicles and will be future-ready for all VW domestic models.
More than 20 new NEV models are scheduled for launch throughout this year, according to the carmaker, building on its ramp up in momentum, and by 2030 it expects to introduce 50 new NEV models to the market.
He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng said the ID.UNYX 08 entering series production is a tangible result. “Built on mutual trust and close collaboration, this partnership allows both sides to combine our strengths and create long-term value,” he said. “We look forward to a continued cooperation and a win-win future.”
