The Changchun town in China will be the chosen point to manufacture new electric cars using the Premium Electric Platform (PPE) developed between Audi and Porsche. Through further cooperation, a joint venture is created with the Chinese company FAW.
The new company will have, for the first time, a majority of the capital of the Volkswagen group, a novelty for the modus operandi of Chinese policy that required any foreign company that decided to settle in the Asian country to associate with a local company on equal terms.
After the arrival of Tesla in China with the historical exemption that allows it to establish itself freely and without any association with another company, the new agreements between the European Union and the Asian giant are beginning to bear fruit by changing the landscape and trade relations.
As of the first quarter of 2021, the Volkswagen group will have the majority with 60% over FAW, in the joint venture that will develop electric cars based on the new PPE platform from 2024.
Changchun is the town where the German presence of the largest automobile group, by car sales, in the world rises in China from the hand of FAW-VW.
Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, currently manufactures vehicles in China. The company, FAW Audi Sales Co., will be in charge of selling all the cars produced in China and those imported under the four rings’ brand.
The vehicles derived from the PPE platform belong to the luxury segments B and D. The batteries and the system of the cars developed under this basis will have 800 V, which will allow them to access loads of up to 350 kW.
This configuration seems to be the new standard since Hyundai’s new E-GMP platform, on which the new electrics will be born under the IONIQ brand, will also have 800 volts.