Seat coming to China with VW gearing up for growth

Volkswagen’s Spanish subsidiary Seat will enter China by hooking onto the JAC Volkswagen joint venture. Together the three plan to establish a R&D centre for electric vehicles. Development is to culminate in a dedicated electric car platform for China and beyond in 2021.

The new MoU signed by Seat, JAC and Volkswagen specifies a R&D center to develop electric vehicles, connectivity and autonomous driving technologies tailored to the Chinese market.

This includes relevant parts and components and core technologies, with completion planned for 2021. In addition, the joint venture will launch a competitive BEV platform that may be used both in China and globally.

For Volkswagen, the introduction of Seat in China and the expansion of their JAC joint venture is in line with a push for growth in the market also affirmed in other letters of intent that Volkswagen signed with the FAW Group and China Intelligent and Connected Vehicles Research Institute (ICV) in berlin. Together they want to accelerate the areas of e-mobility, connectivity, mobility services and autonomous driving. Their plans include “developing a national battery-charging infrastructure and all business activities that are related to it,” adds Professor Jochem Heizmann, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.

Throughout 2022, Volkswagen has earmarked no less than 15 billion euros for future cooperation with partners in China. This includes local investments as well as research and development for new technologies and mobility projects.

For Volkswagen, China is not the only market to reorganise, they also change their own house. The Volkswagen AG that has appointed Dr. Stefan Sommer as the Board Member with responsibility for Procurement effective latest January 1, 2019. Sommer was CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen until the end of 2017. There is also a new boos coming to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Dr. Thomas Sedran has been appointed CEO of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand effective September 1, 2018. He takes over from Dr. Eckhard Scholz, who is stepping down at his own request.

greencarcongress.com (Seat), volkswagen-media-services.com (FAW & charging infrastructure), volkswagen-media-services.com (Dr. Sommer for procurement), volkswagen-media-services.com (Dr. Sedran for commercial vehicles)