Volkswagen Group announced a series of new vehicles and a driver assistance system built by “China for China” on Tuesday, hoping that this will help reverse its decline in the world's largest automotive market.
Although it remains the country's leading foreign group, Volkswagen sees its sales as the rise of local brands – a fate that has also landed on its German compatriots BMW and Mercedes.
The group covers ten brands including Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, and sold 644,100 vehicles in China in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 7.1%.
To cope with the decline, Volkswagen plans to launch more than 20 electric and hybrid models in the country by 2027, the organization's head of China, Ralf brand Ststerter said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“Our biggest push in electric vehicle history started here,” he said.
On the eve of the large-scale industry opening ceremony displaying Auto Hanghai, Volkswagen released three high-tech prototypes.
Both SUVs and a sedan model were developed in China, with the group's local partners being industrial giants FAW, SAIC and JAC.
“Our industry is at a turning point,” CEO Oliver Blume said Tuesday, noting that “highly competitive markets” and “risen trade barriers” are the main challenges.
Bloom said the group adjusted its China strategy about two years ago, and that progress was faster than expected.
Its work in the Chinese market, he said, is “another step to becoming a global technology driver for the automotive industry.”
The group proposed an electric model on Tuesday's premium Audi brand that promises a 770km.
It also reveals the first series of models of its separate Audi brand.
It has multiple AI capabilities, digitally specific to China, with the purpose of being a “technology-centric” Chinese customer.
Volkswagen also proposed a new generation of driver assistance, “specially designed for complex traffic conditions in China.”
Level 2++ technology allows drivers to temporarily take their eyes off the road, and the technology will be launched for the first time later this year.
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