Volkswagen has announced that it will invest over 10 billion euros ($12 billion) on a fleet of new-energy vehicles in China.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, VW China head Jochem Heizmann revealed that by 2025, the investments will result in the introduction of 40 locally-produced vehicles, created in collaboration with local joint venture Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC Motor).
Bloomberg reports that VW intends on introducing 15 models based on its MQB platform while the remaining vehicles will use a selection of new platforms.
The automaker’s ambitious China plans come just a couple of months after the country revealed its cap-and-trade policy. These new regulations will require automakers to obtain a new-energy vehicle score (zero- and low-emission vehicles) of at least 10 per cent in 2019 and rising to 12 per cent in 2020.
According to Heizmann, the selection of new vehicles will allow VW to meet these requirements. However, he admitted that it will be difficult to achieve a fleet-wide average fuel consumption level of 5 liters per 100 km (62 miles) in China by 2020.