Volkswagen Group China has announced plans to bolster investment in its majority-controlled JV with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (JAC Motors), Reuters reported.
Volkswagen and JAC Motors are looking to boost the JV’s registered capital from $1.03bn to $1.94bn. Around $220m will come from JAC, while the remaining $680m will be invested by Volkswagen, thereby not changing their 25% and 75% stakes, respectively, in the JV.
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News of the latest boost in investment comes following human rights allegations raised by Human Rights Watch (HRW) against car makers in China, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BYD, Toyota and General Motors.
In a report published by HRW in February, the NGO accused the auto giants of failing to prevent the exploitation of Uighur workers at aluminium production sites in Xinjiang, north-west China.
Volkswagen is looking to recover the market share lost in China following the rise in tensions between the West and Beijing, and with mounting pressure to exit the production site in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region.
In 2017, VW signed an agreement with JAC Motors in which both companies secured a 50:50 stake in producing mostly electric vehicle models. In December 2020, Volkswagen China acquired another 25% of the JV, bringing the total ownership to 75%.
The JV with JAC Motors is based in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui province. Volkswagen Group China has 33 plants across multiple locations in the country.
