Volkswagen Has A China Downside. And It Can’t Repair It Alone

• VW EV gross sales in China plunged 34% within the first half of 2025, so it is turning to native companions to assist it develop extra interesting China-specific fashions.
• The brand new VW ID. Unyx 08 is co-developed with Xpeng and shares its 800-volt platform with the G9 SUV.
• It is certainly one of VW’s new EVs made “in China for China” EVs. The corporate expects to have 30 China-specific fashions by 2030.

Volkswagen’s electrical automobiles gross sales are plummeting in China, nevertheless it hopes a brand new EV co-developed with Xpeng will flip its fortunes round. The Touareg-sized VW ID. Unyx 08 is the results of the partnership, and it seems to be like no different automobile within the producer’s world portfolio. It’s a part of the producer’s made “in China for China” technique, and was previewed by the ID. Evo design examine on the Shanghai motor present in April.

Two different ideas have been proven this 12 months in Shanghaiand all three of them have been from totally different Chinese language joint ventures. The ID. Unyx 08 shall be constructed by Volkswagen Anhui, and it’s the third mannequin within the ID. Unyx sequence after the 06 crossover and 07 sedan, each of that are absolutely electrical. Manufacturing of the 08 is about to start out in 2026.

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Supply: Volkswagen

The 08 shall be out there with two sizes of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack, and supply single- and dual-motor configurations. It’s going to have a most CLTC vary of over 700 km (434 miles). VW says it’s the model’s smartest EV so far, too, with the required automated driving tech to be summoned to choose up its driver from a car parking zone, on high of the same old semi-autonomous driving options that different VW fashions supply.

The 08 was created with assist from Xpeng. Volkswagen acquired a 5% stake within the Chinese language carmaker in 2023 to assist it shortly carry extra EVs to market. These automobiles weren’t constructed on MEB or another VW group platform, however the corporations at the moment are working collectively extra carefully. The brand new 08 shares its 800-volt underpinnings with the Xpeng G9. The platform has a peak charging energy ranking of over 300 kilowatts, which within the G9 is nice for a ten% to 80% cost time of round 20 minutes.

Within the first six months of 2025, Volkswagen’s EV gross sales in China dropped by 34%, with deliveries of simply 59,400 automobiles in comparison with 90,600 in 2024. These 2024 numbers already represented a drop; In any case, as just lately as 2023 VW was nonetheless China’s greatest automaker by gross sales. So 2025 is the second 12 months of declining gross sales for VW, which is why it’s turning to its joint ventures and Chinese language companions to attempt to launch automobiles that native consumers will really think about.

The opposite two ideas proven this 12 months in Shanghai may also develop into manufacturing fashions. The most important is the ID. Period examine from SAIC Volkswagen is a full-size range-extender SUV that may drive 300 km (186 miles) in electrical mode and over 1,000 km (620 miles) on a full tank. The ID. Aura idea previews a glossy sedan, which shall be manufactured by way of the FAW-Volkswagen three way partnership. It’s the primary automobile on VW’s new Compact Important Platform (CMP).

This new China-specific structure will characteristic the model’s first AI-powered Superior Driver Help System (ADAS), introducing a brand new characteristic referred to as City Navigate on Autopilot, with eventual guarantees to supply full Stage 3 automated driving.

Throughout the whole VW group, the aim is to supply round 30 electrical fashions in China by 2030, and most of them shall be particular to the market, which means they are going to be developed and constructed with the assistance of native companions. Its gross sales could also be declining, however Volkswagen is not backing down simply but.