VOLKSWAGEN AG, Europe s largest carmaker, plans to build and sell 10,000 electric cars in China from 2014 to 2018 as rivals add more fuel-efficient vehicles in the world s biggest auto market.
The German company will produce an electric model at local ventures with SAIC Motor Corp. and FAW Group Corp. as early as 2013 and is considering a battery-powered model specifically designed for the nation in 2018, said Karl-Thomas Neumann, president of Volkswagen Group China, in Shenzhen, on Saturday.
Volkswagen, the first overseas automaker to enter the Chinese market three decades ago, joins Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Daimler AG in planning electric vehicles in the country. While local demand for electric cars and hybrids trails other markets, China is offering buyers of plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars subsidies of as much as 60,000 yuan (US$9,000) to help cut pollution and reduce oil dependency.
There is a very strong argument that electric cars are the right move for China, although there are still many challenges, Neumann said. China is making huge investments in renewable energy.
The challenges include lessening the country s reliance on electricity produced by coal-fired power stations and high battery costs, which make production of electric cars in China not feasible at the moment, Neumann said.
The German carmaker will introduce its Touareg hybrid sport-utility vehicle locally this year and begin field tests of electric vehicles in China this year, VW said.
Other car companies, including General Motors, Nissan, Daimler, Toyota and Shenzhen-based BYD Co., are planning to introduce new electric models in the nation.
China will have as many as 20,000 plug-in hybrids and electric cars by 2013 and will account for less than 9 percent of the total plug-in hybrid and electric car demand by 2020, according to a study by J.D. Power & Associates last month.(SD-Agencies)
