Volkswagen bets big on China with three new plants poised to open this summer

Volkswagen is gearing up to take a further bite out of China’s booming sports utility vehicle and electric car sectors with three new factories openings this summer with Chinese partner FAW Group, the German car major said on Monday.

With the three facilities in Qingdao in Shandong province, Tianjin, and Foshan in southern Guangdong province, the world’s largest carmaker said it is well on track to hit its target of releasing 40 new locally produced new-energy models over the next seven years, and deliver up to 1.5 million new-energy cars annually by 2025, it said.

Herbert Diess, chairman and chief executive officer of Volkswagen, said the car major is committed to China and will continue to provide “high quality” products.

By advancing its local production, the German giant views the new facilities as helping streamline its regional production by better balancing the workload of its existing factories here.

“Chinese consumers today are showing strong demand for smart, sustainable electric vehicles as well as fun-to-drive, spacious SUVs,” said Diess.