The Volkswagen Group (IW 1000/7) and its joint venture FAW-Volkswagen announced today the opening of a new vehicle production plant in Foshan, Southern China.
While first-stage production capacity is 300,000 vehicles annually, the plan is to to double capacity.
The first vehicle to leave the assembly line in Foshan is a seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf. The Audi A3 will also be built in Foshan from the end of 2013.
The Foshan plant is the first production facility in China based on the modular transverse toolkit (MQB) and can simultaneously build Volkswagen and Audi models. It is planned to double capacity at the plant in the medium term.
“Volkswagen in China stands for both green mobility and sustainable growth,” said Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, CEO of Volkswagen Group China. “Our new plant in Foshan combines state-of-the-art technology with particularly efficient resource management.”
The Foshan facility was the first car factory in China to receive a Triple-Star Green Building Award, the highest state award available for environmentally compatible factory design. While 100% of the plant’s wastewater is treated and reused, almost 90% of the waste and packaging material from the production process is recycled.
China is the Volkswagen Group’s largest sales market worldwide. In 2012, the company delivered more than 2.81 million vehicles to customers in the country. In the first eight months of this year, deliveries rose by 17.9% compared with the comparable prior-year period to 2.05 million vehicles.
FAW-Volkswagen already operates two vehicle production plants, one in Changchun and one in Chengdu. The Volkswagen Group is building four further plants in China this year and over the next few years.
By 2018, the number of employees will have increased from the present 75,000 to 100,000, and annual production capacity will have risen from around 2.6 million to over four million.
