Volkswagen Anhui is moving full speed ahead with production, with pre-production vehicles set to roll off the line this year and mass production in the second half of 2023.
(Image credit: Volkswagen)
Volkswagen Anhui, the Volkswagen-controlled joint venture with JAC, saw its first body-in-white roll off the production line today, marking a major advance in the pilot production of its first new energy vehicle (NEV) model.
The German carmaker held a ceremony today to mark the occasion, saying Volkswagen Anhui is moving full speed ahead with production, with pre-production vehicles due to roll off the line this year and mass production in the second half of 2023.
Volkswagen Anhui, previously known as JAC Volkswagen Automobile Co Ltd was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between the Volkswagen Group and JAC, and is VW's first joint venture in China to focus on NEVs.
At the end of 2020, Volkswagen increased its stake in the company to 75 percent and had it renamed Volkswagen Anhui to focus primarily on the development and production of NEVs.
Volkswagen Anhui will be the third MEB plant of Volkswagen in China and will build pure electric vehicles based on the platform.
Construction of Volkswagen Anhui's MEB plant began in April 2021 and was completed in February this year, with equipment installation starting in March.
The plant covers an area of about 500,000 square meters, including 140,000 square meters for the body shop, which uses the "In-line measurement 2025" technology for the first time in the Volkswagen Group.
The technology enables in-line measurement of all body-in-white production lines, thus improving the efficiency and precision of the production process.
(Image credit: Volkswagen)
In addition to the body shop, the Volkswagen Anhui MEB plant also includes a final assembly shop and a paint shop, all of which are expected to be completed in the next few months.
(The body shop at Volkswagen Anhui vehicle production base. Image credit: Hefei Daily)
In the eyes of analysts, Volkswagen Anhui offers new imagination for the German automaker's growth in China.
In a research note at the end of January, CITIC Securities said Volkswagen Anhui is expected to become the third growth pole for Volkswagen in China, in addition to FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC-Volkswagen.
"According to our estimates, Volkswagen Anhui is expected to sell 40,000, 80,000 and 200,000 units from 2023-2025," the team said.
