Volkswagen has said it can produce an electric vehicle entirely made in China for half the cost of doing so elsewhere, as the German automaker fights to reclaim its share in the world’s biggest market.
Europe’s largest carmaker said on Tuesday that, following a series of investments in the country, it can for the first time develop new cars outside Germany, including testing and deploying new technologies such as assisted driving.
VW is preparing to release about 30 EV models in China over the next five years, in a bet on localised research and development. The carmaker said that, compared with the 2023 production costs for EVs in Germany, the cost for some models in China had been reduced by as much as 50 per cent due to supply chain efficiencies, including battery procurement, shorter development periods and lower labour costs.