It would be very damaging if Germany or the EU wanted to decouple from China, says Herbert Diess.
In an article published today, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess calls for more cooperation between Europe and China.
In his article posted on LinkedIn, Diess writes in the first paragraph, " We need more cooperation and presence in China, not less!"
It would be very harmful if Germany or the EU wanted to decouple from China, he said, adding that as a global company, Volkswagen will never stop advocating globalization, a multilateral rules-based trading system and engagement.
Diess listed facts that show how important China is to them:
This year, the Chinese car market as a whole grew only slightly by 4.4 percent. We lost market share due to the semiconductor crisis - but thanks to our sales optimization, we still achieved a good result.
The Chinese government will continue to promote employment and consumption - especially electric vehicles - through expansionary financial policies, he mentioned.
The Chinese NEV market is targeted to double by 2022. Volkswagen has already launched the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.6 in China this year and has significantly increased its sales targets for next year, he said.
In addition, the Audi Q4 etron will follow, he said.
"We are strongly positioned! But we have to use the Chinese speed and local technology platforms to remain worldwide relevant in NEW AUTO! " he said.
"On the political side we need cooperation, dialogue, international collaboration and an expansion of our economic relations, " he added.
At a time when the Chinese electric vehicle market is growing rapidly, Volkswagen is already making an aggressive transition and increasing its bets here.
Volkswagen's ID. family of electric vehicles sold 14,167 units in China in November, up 11 percent from 12,736 units in October, data shared by the German auto giant earlier this month showed.
It was also the third consecutive month that ID. family electric cars delivered more than 10,000 units in China, a new high for Volkswagen since it began publishing the data in June.
In addition, Volkswagen China's strategic investment in Chinese power battery giant Gotion High-Tech was completed last week after the deal was announced last May.
Volkswagen China increased its stake in Gotion to 441 million shares, increasing its ownership to 26.47 percent, making it the largest shareholder.
The stake held by Gotion's Chairman Li Zhen and his concerted action partners dropped to 18.17 percent, making him the second largest shareholder of Gotion High-Tech, but Li remains the de facto controller.
According to VW China's previous commitment, it will relinquish some of its voting rights for at least the next three years to ensure Gotion's sound development, leaving Li as the top voting shareholder of the company.
Volkswagen China officially becomes largest shareholder of EV battery maker Gotion High-Tech
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