Το VW Group ανακοίνωσε πως επεκτείνει τη πετυχημένη συνεργασία του με τη Κινέζικη First Automotive Works (FAW), με την οποία συνεργάζεται τα τελευταία 20 χρόνια. Οι δύο εταιρίες θα συνεργάζονται για ακόμη 25 χρόνια, μέχρι το 2041, με τη συμφωνία να υπογράφεται χθες στο Βερολίνο από τον πρόεδρο του VW Group, Martin Winterkorn, ενώ το παρόν έδωσαν η καγκελάριος της Γερμανίας Angela Merkel και ο Li Keqiang, πρωθυπουργός της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της Κίνας.
Οι δύο εταιρίες με τη νέα συμφωνία επεκτείνουν τις υφιστάμενες δραστηριότητες έρευνας και ανάπτυξης στην Κίνα και προχωρούν σε νέους επιχειρηματικούς τομείς κατά τα προσεχή έτη, κυρίως στον τομέα των εναλλακτικών τεχνολογιών κίνησης. Κατά τους πρώτους εννέα μήνες του έτους, το VW Group στη Κίνα, μαζί με τις κινεζικές κοινοπραξίες της Shanghai Volkswagen και FAW-Volkswagen, έχουν παραδώσει περισσότερα από 2,7 εκατομμύρια οχήματα +15,2 σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του προηγούμενου έτους. Το VW Group μέσα στους πρώτους εννέα μήνες του 2014 πούλησε παγκοσμίως 7,4 εκατ. αυτοκίνητα (+5,3%), ενώ μόνο τον Σεπτέμβριο πούλησε 881.300 αυτοκίνητα (+3%).
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Volkswagen extends cooperation with Chinese joint venture partner FAW Group for further 25 years
- Agreement signed in Federal Chancellery in presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel
- Volkswagen and further Chinese joint venture partner SAIC agree on new proving ground in Xinjiang province
- Prof. Dr. Winterkorn: “Together with its strong partners Volkswagen is focusing on innovation, eco-friendly technologies and excellently trained employees in China.”
- Cooperation with Ministry of Education: Centers of competence for teacher training to be set up to strengthen expansion of dual vocational training system
After 20 years of successful cooperation the Volkswagen Group and its Chinese joint venture partner First Automotive Works (FAW) are extending their present partnership for a further 25 years, until the year 2041. In addition, the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC are investing in the Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) proving ground in Xinjiang province, western China. Both agreements were signed in Berlin today in the presence of Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. A joint memorandum concluded with the Chinese Ministry of Education concerning cooperation in the field of vocational training was already signed yesterday in Wolfsburg.
Based on today’s extended cooperation, Volkswagen and FAW will be able to significantly expand existing research and development activities in China and move into new business areas in the coming years, above all in the field of alternative drive technologies. The agreement was signed by Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for China and President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, and Xu Jianyi, Chairman of the FAW Group. Back in July of this year, Volkswagen and FAW agreed to expand their production capacity by building two new plants in Qingdao and Tianjin.
“Together with its strong partners Volkswagen is focusing on innovation, eco-friendly technologies and excellently trained employees in China. Today’s agreements pave the way for the sustainable development of China’s automotive industry and for the Volkswagen Group and its joint ventures to benefit from growth”, Winterkorn underscored during the signing ceremony.
Volkswagen is further expanding its activities in western China – and is joining up with the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC to invest some €100 million in a new proving ground in the Xinjiang region to test models from Shanghai Volkswagen. The facility will be built to the south east of the Urumqi plant commissioned in August 2013. Heizmann and Chen Zhixin, President of SAIC Motor Corporation, also signed a joint agreement to this effect today.
“Our success in China would not have been possible without our long-standing Chinese joint venture partnerships”, Heizmann commented. “We are firmly convinced the extended cooperation with FAW we signed today reinforces our excellent strategic position going forward. We will be introducing our newest testing methods in China at our new proving ground, and will be paying very close attention to the appropriate training for our employees. This is clear testimony of Volkswagen’s commitment to the Chinese market.”
As Prof. Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Human Resources, Organization and IT, underscored: “Dual vocational training along the lines of the system Volkswagen has implemented almost all over the world closely links theory and practice and ensures that young employees acquire a high standard of specialist skills. That is why we want to encourage even more higher vocational education institutions in China to commit to dual vocational training.” Together with Prof. Guiren Yuan, the Chinese Minister of Education, Neumann signed on Thursday in Wolfsburg a memorandum on cooperation in the field of vocational training in which the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese government undertake to expand the dual vocational training system in China. Plans include nine centers of competence for teacher training and for teaching programs that closely link theory and practice in line with the German vocational training principle. These educational facilities will specialize in tooling, automation technology, bodyshell technology and automotive technology as well as pedagogy. The first centers have already been set up in Changchun and Yizheng.
The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful companies in the Chinese automobile industry. Together with its joint venture partners SAIC and FAW, the Volkswagen Group builds models from the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and ŠKODA brands for the Chinese market. Vehicle production includes engines and components manufactured locally by the Group and its partners. In total, the Volkswagen Group has a presence at 17 production locations in China comprising eight vehicle sites and nine component sites. Shanghai Volkswagen has already announced the building of a new factory in Changsha to expand vehicle production capacity. Furthermore, FAW-Volkswagen is to construct two new production plants in Qingdao and Tianjin.
In the first three quarters of this year, Volkswagen Group China together with its Chinese joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen delivered more than 2.7 million vehicles, an increase of 15.2 percent on the comparable prior-year period.
Volkswagen Group delivers 7.40 million vehicles in first three quarters*
- 5.3 percent* increase from January to September
- 881,300 vehicles delivered in September / +3.0 percent*
- Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler: “Deliveries continue to develop well despite challenging markets. Chance to reach ten million deliveries mark for first time.”
The Volkswagen Group delivered 7.40 (January-September 2013: 7.03; +5.3 percent)* million vehicles from January to September. In the month of September the company handed over 881,300 (September 2013: 856,000; +3.0 percent)* models to customers. “The Volkswagen Group grew deliveries further to well over seven million units in the first three quarters of the year. That is a very pleasing development, particularly given the differences in the way world markets have been performing,” Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday, and added: “Even though markets remain challenging, we nevertheless have the chance to reach the ten million deliveries mark this year – four years earlier than originally planned.”
Group brands delivered a total of 2.90 (2.73; +6.4 percent) million vehicles to customers on the overall European market from January to September, of which 1.51 (1.40; +7.8 percent) million were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). 909,200 (855,600; +6.3 percent) customers took possession of a new vehicle on the home market of Germany. Europe’s largest automaker delivered 481.100 (470.200; +2.3 percent) vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. 196,700 (226,100; -13.0 percent) models were handed over to customers in Russia during the same period.
The Group delivered 653,600 (664,500; -1.6 percent) vehicles in the North America region in the first three quarters, of which 439,600 (463,200; -5.1 percent) were handed over to customers in the USA. The Volkswagen Group delivered 538,400 (680,500; -20.9 percent) vehicles to customers in the South America region during the same period, of which 420,800 (502,700; -16.3 percent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.
The Group continued to record very encouraging figures in the Asia-Pacific region, where 2.99 (2.63; +13.8 percent) million vehicles were handed over to customers in the period to September, of which 2.72 (2.36; +15.2 percent) million units were delivered in China, the Group’s largest single market.
Outline of developments at Group brands
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 4.56 (4.43; +3.0 percent) million vehicles to customers worldwide from January to September. The brand developed particularly well in the Asia-Pacific region, handing over 2.22 (1.95; +13.8 percent) million vehicles there. Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 1.26 (1.23; +2.8 percent) million vehicles to customers on the overall European market, with deliveries increasing by 5.2 percent to 648,300 (616,400) units in Western Europe (excluding Germany).
Audi delivered 1.30 (1.18; +10.0 percent) million vehicles worldwide in the period to September. The premium brand from Ingolstadt developed well in the Asia-Pacific region, handing over 491,500 (422,600; +16.3 percent) models to customers there. Audi delivered 158,400 (138,400) vehicles in the North America region during the same period, an increase of 14.5 percent.
The sports car manufacturer Porsche delivered a total of 135,600 (119,700; +13.3 percent) vehicles in the first three quarters. Demand for models from the Stuttgart-based carmaker was particularly high in the Asia-Pacific region, where 43,600 (36,400; +19.8 percent) vehicles were delivered, and in Western Europe (excluding Germany), where 20,000 (16,600; +20.7 percent) models were handed over to customers.
ŠKODA delivered a total of 774,100 (684,900; +13.0 percent) vehicles worldwide from January to September. The Czech automaker was particularly successful on European markets, delivering 203,500 (171,700; +18.5 percent) units in Western Europe (excluding Germany) and 203,100 (181,100; +12.2 percent) vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. The brand grew deliveries by 12.9 percent to 113,200 (100,300) units in Germany.
SEAT delivered 294,000 (266,100; +10.5 percent) vehicles worldwide in the period to September. The Spanish brand performed particularly well in Central and Eastern Europe, where deliveries increased by 55.0 percent to 18,500 (11,900) units, and in Western Europe (excluding Germany), where the company handed over 166,100 (149,000; +11.5 percent) vehicles to customers. In Germany SEAT delivered 63,700 (57,300; +11.0 percent) units.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 325,100 (338,400; -3.9 percent) vehicles to customers from January to September, of which 127,300 (119,600; +6.5 percent) were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). Deliveries in Germany during the same period ran at 85,800 (80,700; +6.4 percent) units.
*) excluding MAN and Scania
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