Another month, another plant inauguration for VW in China. One can’t help but marvel at the scale of the world’s third-biggest carmaker. The Volkswagen Group has just opened its 105th plant worldwide and the 16th it has in China, the world’s largest car market.
Located in Ningbo, south eastern China, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles and will create 5,700 new jobs. The plant features production technology based on the Modular Transverse Toolkit (MQB) and will manufacturer Volkswagen and Skoda models.
The new plant was built in less than two years and is part of the Shanghai-Volkswagen joint venture between SAIC Motor Corporation and Volkswagen AG. Located 150 km south of the greater Shanghai area, the facility has its own press, body and paint shops plus a final assembly unit. The first model to roll off the assembly line will be the Skoda Superb, with other MQB-based VW and Skoda models to follow in the next stage.
“This new, state-of-the-art factory is further proof of the Volkswagen Group’s comprehensive commitment in China. For our Group brands, the Ningbo plant also gives new momentum to tapping the full potential of the huge market south and west of Shanghai,” said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of the Volkswagen Group.
China is the VW Group’s largest sales market, with the German carmaker delivering 2.81 million vehicles in the country last year together with its partners Shanghai-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen. Deliveries rose 18 percent in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period last year to 2.36 million vehicles. By 2018, the automaker targets an annual production capacity of around 4 million vehicles.
By Dan Mihalascu
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