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☆ Volkswagen to launch China-specific entry level electric platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Volkswagen electric ID car is seen during a construction completion event of SAIC Volkswagen MEB electric vehicle plant in Shanghai, China November 8, 2019. Chinese new car buyers are younger, tech savvy and like a immersive digital experience from their cars, he added. China was a very “price-sensitive” market and Volkswagen needed to optimise costs, Brandstaetter said. Volkswagen in July struck a deal with Chinese EV maker Xpeng Inc (9868.HK) to boost its EV line up. It has two new models under development as part of that partnership that will target mid-level consumers and be produced on an older generation Xpeng platform.

Persons: Aly, Ralf Brandstaetter, Brandstaetter, “, Luehrmann, Volkswagen's, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Victoria Waldersee, Kim Coghill Organizations: Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen, REUTERS, Rights, Volkswagen Group China Technology Company, SAIC, FAW, JAC Motors, Xpeng, HK, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights HEFEI, BERLIN, Hefei, BYD, Germany

☆ Volkswagen China chief asks China's premier Li for clarity on data transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) head of its business in China said on Tuesday that the carmaker needed clarity on cross-border data transfers in a meeting with the country's Premier Li Qiang, asking how China would cooperate with Europe amid rising political tensions. "As a globalized industry, the transformation of the automotive sector highly depends on international exchange of personnel, data and knowledge. We therefore need more clarity on cross-border data transfers," executive Ralf Brandstaetter said, according to a copy of the speech held at a World Economic Forum meeting in Tianjin. "What are the major considerations of China, and how China will cooperate with Europe in this regard?" SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co joined in the price war in March, offering 3.7 billion yuan ($512.52 million) in cash subsidies for car purchases in China.

Persons: Li Qiang, Ralf Brandstaetter, Brandstaetter, Victoria Waldersee, Matthias Williams Organizations: Volkswagen, Qualcomm, Horizon Robotics, Tesla, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, China, Europe, Tianjin, North America, Italian, Hefei

☆ Volkswagen won't participate in China discount battle "at any price" - COO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Volkswagen AG FollowBERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will not participate in a discount battle in China "at any price", Chief Operating Officer Ralf Brandstaetter said in an interview released on Wednesday. "Volkswagen is focusing on a sustainable business model. In concrete terms, this means that we will not participate in the discount battle at any price," Brandstaetter said in an interview for the company's intranet. For us, the focus is on profitability, not sales volume or market share," he added. Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ralf Brandstaetter, Brandstaetter, Friederike Heine, Kirsti Organizations: Volkswagen, BERLIN, Thomson Locations: China

☆ Volkswagen won't join China discount battle "at any price" - COO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Volkswagen AG FollowBERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will not participate in a discount battle in China "at any price", Chief Operating Officer Ralf Brandstaetter said in an interview released on Wednesday. In concrete terms, this means that we will not participate in the discount battle at any price," Brandstaetter said in an interview for the company's intranet. "Our market position is strong enough. Volkswagen aspires to be the biggest international carmaker in China, he said, adding that it's irrelevant if another national manufacturer sells more than it does. Chinese manufacturer BYD 002594.SZ outsold Volkswagen, which has led the market there for decades, as the top passenger car brand earlier this year.

Persons: Ralf Brandstaetter, Brandstaetter, Jan C, Schwartz, Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray, Kirsti Knolle, Madeline Chambers Organizations: Volkswagen, BERLIN, SZ, Thomson Locations: China

☆ Volkswagen defends China record at turbulent shareholder meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Volkswagen defended its record in China and its decision to jointly own a plant in the Xinjiang region after activists and investors lashed out at the carmaker at a volatile annual general shareholder meeting on Wednesday. The United Nations said last year that China's "arbitrary and discriminatory detention" of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. Rights groups have documented abuses including mass forced labour in detention camps which China has denied. Investors called on Volkswagen to request its joint venture partner SAIC seeks an independent external audit of the Xinjiang plant. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka, a top-20 Volkswagen shareholder.

REUTERS/Wolfgang RattaySummarySummary Companies Volkswagen China chief toured Xinjiang plant on Feb 16-17Carmaker contractually bound to plant until 2030Company notes 'more repressive approach' in region since 2015No indication of forced labour on visit - China chiefPlant no longer assembling cars, 65% staff cutBERLIN, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is contractually committed to its plant in Xinjiang until 2030, it said on Tuesday, after its China chief made the first visit by senior management to the plant in mid-February and said he saw no signs of forced labour. Ralf Brandstaetter, who has headed the carmaker's China operations since the middle of last year, spent 1-1/2 days on Feb. 16-17 touring the facility with Volkswagen's compliance and external relations chief in China. I can try and verify the facts [from joint venture partner SAIC], and that's what I did. China has strenuously denied any abuses in Xinjiang. Around 190 workers had also undertaken retraining and qualification programmes at other SAIC plants across China.

☆ Volkswagen sees no sign of forced labor at its plant in Xinjiang
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Volkswagen faced a barrage of criticism from campaigners Tuesday after the head of its Chinese business said he saw no sign of forced labor during a visit to the carmaker’s plant in Xinjiang. Activists and an international group of lawmakers said verifying labor standards in the region was impossible. Rights groups have documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang since the 2000s, including mass forced labor in detention camps which the United Nations said could constitute crimes against humanity. Brandstaetter said he saw no signs of forced labor and that workers’ comments matched the reports Volkswagen had received from SAIC about the plant. Reputational riskVolkswagen says it has never found evidence of forced labor among its Xinjiang workforce and its presence is positive for the local population.

BERLIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) wants to expand both its higher-end and lower-end offering in the Chinese market, China chief Ralf Brandstaetter said on Monday, calling the country's high-paced, competitive market a "giant fitness centre for the industry". Volkswagen has long dominated the combustion engine car market in China, but lags domestic competitors on electric vehicles (EVs) - most notably BYD, which sold 40,046 EVs between Jan. 1-8 compared to Volkswagen passenger brand's 1,962, according to Chinese brokerage CMBI. The carmaker aims to speed up its time to market for new models from four years closer to the 2.5-year average for its Chinese counterparts, in part by localising research and development for Chinese models even further. Volkswagen must act "from a position of strength" within China, Brandstaetter said, referring to the ongoing debate in Germany over how to diversify its economic relationships to rely less on China. It means continuing to use the market opportunities in China and ramping up America," he said.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.29, or 3.1%, to settle at $77.41. Global equities were up on hopes that U.S. inflation and earnings figures due on Thursday will indicate a resilient economy and result in a slower pace of interest rate hikes. Oil demand is coming back and expectations are high that China’s demand is about to skyrocket," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 2.2 million-barrel decline in crude stocks, and industry data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showing a 14.9 million-barrel build. ,EIA this week forecast U.S. crude production will reach all-time highs in 2023 and 2024.

☆ Volkswagen sees China sales on par with 2021 as lockdown impact lingers - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) expects sales in China to stagnate at about 3.3 million vehicles in 2022, its China chief told Handelsblatt on Tuesday, as it struggles to make up the impact of coronavirus lockdowns and chip shortages in the first half. The carmaker had previously forecast sales of 3.85 million vehicles this year, on par with 2020, but adjusted its expectations in the middle of the year, Ralf Brandstaetter told the German daily. VW still expects to double its sales of ID electric vehicles in the country from last year's level as planned, he added. New coronavirus restrictions in recent weeks have not impacted Volkswagen's own plants, though some dealers have had to close, the China chief said. That was not possible until now because of coronavirus restrictions," he said.

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