February 29 (Reuters) – On Thursday, German manufacturer Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Chinese electric vehicle (EV) partner XPeng (9868. HK) announced that the first car they want to produce together would be an SUV for which they will jointly source parts.
Under a “master agreement” for platform and software collaboration, the automakers announced they would launch a collaborative sourcing program for platform and vehicle parts utilized by both partners, leveraging scale to decrease costs.
The announcement is a step ahead of the cooperation formed in July when Volkswagen announced it would buy 4.99% of Xpeng for approximately $700 million, intending to debut two EV cars together by 2026. In December, the deal was final.
The announcement is a step ahead of the cooperation formed in July when Volkswagen announced it would buy 4.99% of Xpeng for approximately $700 million, intending to debut two EV cars together by 2026. In December, the deal was final.
Cars built under the collaboration will bear the Volkswagen badge but use a jointly created platform based on the decade-old startup’s G9 “Edward” technology.
While many EV manufacturers are scrambling to cut costs, Xpeng announced this month that it would hire 4,000 workers this year and invest millions of dollars in artificial intelligence to survive what it calls a “bloody sea” of competition.
