Volkswagen to Bring 8 EVs to Market in China by 2020
Which could give us a sense when the rest of us will see them, too.
Volkswagen Group plans to bring eight new electric cars, plug-in electric vehicles, and hydrogen vehicles to market in China in the near future, according to a presentation slide recently leaked onto the internet.
The slide, which reportedly stems from a product presentation and was unearthed by Forbes, shows that four of the new cars will be VW models, two will be Audis, and two will come to market under the company's upcoming Chinese brand, JAC-Volkswagen.
According to Forbes, the four VWs will be: the e-Golf and a plug-in hybrid version of the Phideon executive sedan solid exclusively in China, both arriving this year; a plug-in hybrid Tiguan L crossover, arriving in early 2018; and a new production-ready version of Volkswagen's I.D. concept car, which Volkswagen has said it expects to go on sale in 2020. Audi will reportedly market a long-wheelbase A6 e-tron starting this year and a Q6 e-tron crossover , which will be a production version of the E-Tron Quattro Concept, by 2018; JAC-Volkswagen's to-be-named joint brand, meanwhile, is expected to bring a compact SUV based on the JAC iEV6S and a small sedan descended from the JAC iEV5, with the first vehicles arriving in 2018.
A report from Reuters further confirmed VW group's upcoming efforts in the Chinese market. The report stated that Audi and FAW Group Corp will be working closer together to bring five more electric cars to China—including the A6L e-tron as well the Q7 e-tron crossover. Currently, the only electric Audi for sale in the world's largest car market is the A3 e-tron hatchback.
"We are starting the next phase of our joint growth path in China," said Audi sales head Dietmar Voggenreiter. "More than ever, our partnership is focusing on profitable, sustainable growth."
This EV growth in China likely hints at what VW will be continuing to attempt in markets all around the world following the massive (and continuing) legal and public relations fallout from the Dieselgate scandal.
