Letzte Ausbaustufe abgeschlossen: Volkswagen Group China Technology Company in Hefei, China.
Volkswagen completes technology center in Hefei: Milestone for “In China, for China” strategy
Volkswagen has successfully completed the final stage of expansion at its technology and innovation center in Hefei. The Volkswagen Group China Technology Company (VCTC) development center is now able to independently develop and validate new vehicle platforms, software, hardware, and complete vehicle projects for the Chinese market. This will make development processes more efficient, faster, and more customer-oriented, and accelerate market launches.
With the completion of the new test workshops, VCTC is now the Group’s largest research and development center outside Germany. More than 100 state-of-the-art laboratories have been built on an area of around 100,000 square meters, enabling software-hardware integration, battery and powertrain testing, and the complete validation of new vehicles and technologies, among other things.
Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, emphasizes: “Our ‘In China for China’ strategy continues to gain momentum. In Hefei, we have created all the conditions necessary to develop, test, and bring to market the next generation of intelligently connected vehicles locally. This milestone brings us closer to our customers and strengthens our position in the world’s largest automotive market.”
Ralf Brandstätter, Member of the Board of Management for China and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, adds: “China is the most competitive and innovative automotive market in the world. Our customers expect rapid technology updates with the highest quality standards. With the expansion of our development centers in Hefei, we can respond even faster to local needs and bring technologies to market maturity directly where they are used.”
Focused on electric, smart, and connected vehicles: The VCTC is the Group’s only R&D center that focuses exclusively on electric, smart, and connected vehicles. Development units and decision-making processes are bundled under one roof, while cooperation with joint ventures is coordinated. Thanks to close integration into the local technology ecosystem, Volkswagen can respond early to trends such as digitalization and autonomous driving and make targeted use of the innovative strength of the Chinese market.
A key milestone is the China Electronic Architecture (CEA). Within just 18 months, VCTC and CARIAD China have developed the first version of the locally tailored zonal E/E architecture. Thomas Ulbrich, CTO Volkswagen Group China and CEO VCTC, explains: “With the completion of the final expansion stage, our teams can carry out software, hardware, and vehicle validation in parallel, shorten decision loops, and bring innovations to market faster.” VCTC also supports Volkswagen’s internationalization strategy. Vehicles and technologies developed in China can now be exported cost-effectively to the ASEAN region, the Middle East, and, in the future, South America. This not only strengthens Volkswagen’s presence in these growth regions, but also enables it to bring modern, locally adapted vehicles to the international market more quickly.
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