Volkswagen launched production in China of its first electric vehicle drive module designed specifically for electric vehicles based on its MEB platform, as it looks to increase its exposure to the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
The APP310 e-drive system went into production at the end of last week at the automaker’s Tianjin plant which began operations in 2019 producing components for new energy vehicles, including hybrid drive modules.
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The locally made APP310 system will feature in the two ID.4 models displayed earlier this month in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. These models went into production at the FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen joint ventures at the end of last month and are scheduled to reach showrooms early in 2021.
The APP310 drive will also be used in other ID models scheduled for launch in the next few years, including eight to be introduced by 2023, as well as MEB-based models sold under other VW group brands.
Volkswagen Group China CEO Stephan Woellenstein said in a statement “with the start of production of the APP310 e-drive, we are strengthening our local e-components production capabilities and taking a step closer to achieving both our global e-strategy and group wide carbon neutrality by 2050”.
Woellenstein said he expected VW to become the leading new energy vehicle brand in China by 2025.
