GLOBALink | Volkswagen Group to strengthen cooperation with Chinese partner on EV market

The Volkswagen Group, Germany's leading carmaker, has announced it will acquire a 4.99 percent stake in the Chinese electric vehicle startup XPeng by way of a capital increase worth around 700 million U.S. dollars.

According to a technological framework agreement with XPeng, two Volkswagen-branded electric models for the mid-sized segment will be rolled out in 2026 in China.

Reuters said in a report that the new models will plug a gap in Volkswagen's product lineup in China, where the market for new energy vehicles has grown faster than expected.

CNN reported that China is the single largest market for Volkswagen and the German group said it "is stepping up the pace of its transformation in China, where the group aims to remain... amongst the top three in the market."

The deal was a vote of confidence in the Chinese EV industry, Tu Le of Sino Auto Insights was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.

Ralf Brandstaetter, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Volkswagen Group China, said that "Local partnerships are an important building block in the Volkswagen Group's 'in China for China' strategy. We are now accelerating the expansion of our local electric portfolio and at the same time preparing for the next innovation step."

Produced by Xinhua Global Service