Volkswagen Group China starts construction of first EV-car factory

Construction has begun on Volkswagen Group China’s new factory in Anting, Shanghai which will go on to produce 300,000 vehicles a year.

The factory is due to be completed in 2020 and the first model to be produced will be the Volkswagen Brand SUV. Together with the FAW-Volkswagen factory in Foshan, which opened this summer, SAIC VOLKSWAGEN’s plant will begin to produce e-cars on the MEB (Modular Electric Drive Kit) platform directly after the first worldwide MEB production starts in Zwickau, Germany.

The electrification strategy is rapidly gaining pace in the world’s biggest market for e-mobility and Anting will be the first factory specifically designed for the MEB platform.

SAIC VOLKSWAGEN’s factory will adopt a production network structure based on Industry 4.0, which will aim to greatly increase automation rates and efficiency. The facility comes equipped with over 1400 Industry 4.0 standard robots, as well as a range of technologies including AI, AR and VR, delivering an ‘intelligent and digitalised production plant’.

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Covering 610,000 square meters, the NEV plant includes a variety of different function areas such as press and battery assembly workshops, in addition to an elevated stereoscopic warehouse and proving road and more. It will also utilise 27 types of environmentally-friendly technologies with a focus on water preservation, energy saving and carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reduction.

The facility is scheduled to be put into production by 2020 with a planned annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles. It will produce various new pure electric vehicles of SAIC VOLKSWAGEN, including medium- and large-sized pure electric SUVs, as well as battery systems. The factory will become an intelligent and flexible vehicle production base for SAIC VOLKSWAGEN, further supporting the Volkswagen Group in its e-mobility strategy in China.

Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft said: “By building the first factory specifically designed for MEB production, we are opening a new chapter for the Chinese car industry together with our joint venture partner SAIC VOLKSWAGEN. We are strengthening our activities in China’s fast-growing e-mobility market”