Volkswagen: The electrified future is here

The Volkswagen B8 Variant, with the latest R-Line design, is scheduled to hit the Chinese market in the first half of next year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Obstacles to the large-scale introduction of NEVs exist - most notably, the lack of both a standardized national charging infrastructure and standardized plug system. This has, until now, kept some consumers from buying NEVs.

However, there is tremendous interest in NEVs and fuel-sipping, energy efficient vehicles. For evidence, look no further than demand for models featuring Volkswagen's Turbo Stratified Injection engine plus Direct Shift Gearbox. The turbocharged, compact combo delivers excellent power and torque while reducing emissions and fuel consumption.

Heizmann has said Volkswagen will be at the forefront of electrifying the Chinese auto market but Volkswagen is not waiting for the nation's leap to e-mobility to happen by itself. Rather, the company understands that consumers need solutions that work today, and not in an already all-electric future.

The Volkswagen brand will be rolling out more of its GTE hybrids throughout 2016, while pushing forward with the all-electric up! and e-Golf - both already on the market - with more all-electrics models to follow, all the way up to an exclusively electric next generation Phaeton.

Volkswagen sees plug-in hybrids as a crucial intermediary step, as the nation's charging infrastructure becomes standardized and more easily accessible, since the batteries of the average plug-in hybrid can be charged in about 2.5 hours from a normal socket.

Cars for tomorrow's needs

Volkswagen's newest e-mobility solutions are not blind innovation. After more than 30 years of designing cars to meet the needs of Chinese consumers, Volkswagen has a sophisticated understanding of people's lifestyles, wants and needs.

With over 22 million Volkswagen cars sold in China, the brand has developed deep roots in the market. It is with this depth of awareness that Volkswagen is innovating solutions for the digitalized, interconnected and more urban future of China.

A new global company structure enables Volkswagen Group to focus even more on regional customer needs. The group will become more decentralized, and brands and regions will become significantly more independent, according to Heizmann, who is both CEO of Volkswagen Group China and a board member of Volkswagen Group worldwide.

Heizmann said, "The Group board will deal with issues such as cross-brand product strategy, synergies and driving forward the topics of the future. This consequently empowers us even more to develop the right products for our Chinese customers. We will continue to strengthen our local know-how and R&D capabilities."

Volkswagen Group and its Chinese joint ventures, Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, currently run three research and development centers in the country. These centers collaborate closely with those in Germany, and work to provide solutions for the anticipated needs of tomorrow's drivers.