German carmaker Volkswagen has announced plans to export at least 300,000 vehicles built in China every year by 2030. It will also export technologies developed in the country.
The company is trying to boost its global competitiveness amid mounting pressure from Chinese rivals, weak demand in major markets and the challenges of the shift to electric vehicles. It has also begun a major workforce reduction programme.
According to Reuters, Volkswagen Group’s China head, Ralf Brandstätter, disclosed the export target on Wednesday during a visit to Hefei, in eastern China. The company runs a major research and development centre in the city.
“Together we plan to export at least 300,000 cars a year by 2030 but our ambition goes beyond exporting vehicles,” Brandstätter said.
The company said that, for the first time, it would export technologies developed in Hefei to other markets in Asia, the Middle East and South America.
The technologies will not be exported to Europe for now.
The planned exports include the electronic architecture used in its vehicles, which was developed with the help of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng.
Volkswagen also plans to export its vehicle platform and driver-assistance system, which were produced in partnership with Horizon Robotics, a Chinese technology company.
The German automaker hopes the innovations will help it deal with fierce competition and slow growth in China and other international markets.
“What we develop in China makes Volkswagen more competitive around the world,” Brandstätter said.
He added, “China-developed technologies are becoming a key part of the global setup of Volkswagen Group and a strategic advantage.”
In September, Volkswagen reached an agreement with unions to cut a further 50,000 jobs by 2030. This brings its total planned workforce reduction to about 100,000.
The company has also suffered lasting damage to its reputation from the 2015 emissions scandal. The scandal emerged after California regulators found that Volkswagen had installed illegal software in millions of diesel-powered vehicles to manipulate emissions test results.
Meanwhile, rival Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday became the third major German carmaker, after Volkswagen and BMW, to issue a profit warning for the year. It cited difficult business conditions in China.
