This week marks Auto Shanghai, the yearly event where carmakers and auto parts suppliers demonstrate their commitment to China, the world’s largest auto market. At Auto Shanghai, Volkswagen made a grand announcement of investing around one billion dollars ($1.1 billion) in the new China center for the development, innovation and procurement of fully connected electric cars. The center, named 100%TechCo, will be led by Chief Technology Officer Marcus Hafkemeyer as the CEO.
The facility is set to blend together the research and development work of vehicles and components with procurement, giving Chinese suppliers a chance to jump onboard in the initial stages of product development to adjust and change things up as they progress. Volkswagen claims the merger will have a positive effect on the shorter time-to-market which is currently estimated to be around 30 % shorter than usual. It will also serve as a major role in the development of a future Volkswagen model that due to launch come 2024.
The move comes in tandem with Volkswagen’s other efforts to localization for Chinese consumers. In October, the group collaborated with Horizon Robotics, a local auto chip startup, in an effort to create advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving solutions tailored specifically to the Chinese market.
Competition with other highly agile EV startups in China has been fierce. Names that stand out include Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto and Zeekr, to name a few, as well as dominant players like BYD and Tesla. Consequently, the company’s choice to set up 100%TechCo in Hefei, a China’s eastern Anhui Province with a booming electric vehicle production sector, proves to be a great decision as it puts them ever closer in close range to potential customers.
Volkswagen Group– also known commonly as VW– is an automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company based out of Germany. It boasts an extremely expansive lineup, bearing a broad array of options for customers to explore. The company changed the way people thought of cars, sparking a surge in motor Vehicles back in the sixties, with the legendary Beetle car becoming an icon of the industry and a very recognizable icon in posterity.
Marcus Hafkemeyer is a known leader in the fields of technology and automobiles and currently serves as Chief Technology Officer of Volkswagen Group China. He brings to the table a wealth of knowledge and experience, having played a pivotal role in bringing Volkswagen’s vehicles to the forefront of modern technology and sustainable energy in the automotive industry. Mr. Hafkemeyer stands at the helm of 100%TechCo, working to accelerate the company’s already impressive growth levels and pushing their innovations in electric vehicles even further beyond.
