SAIC Volkswagen

SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd., formerly known as Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Anting, Shanghai, China and a joint venture between SAIC Motor and Volkswagen Group. It was founded in 1984 and produces cars under the Volkswagen and Audi marques.Shanghai Volkswagen Škoda in China It is the second automobile manufacturing joint venture in China after American Motors and the first German car manufacturer to enter China.

The joint venture is made up of equity from SAIC Motor (50%), Volkswagen AG (40%), Volkswagen (China) Invest (10%), with a fixed-term venture for 45 years up until 2030.Shanghai Volkswagen SVW Introduction It is the first of three joint ventures operated by Volkswagen in China, alongside FAW-Volkswagen with FAW Group and Volkswagen Anhui with JAC Group.

History In November 1978, the first delegation headed by Zhou Zijian, then Minister of the First Ministry of Machinery Industry, visited the then West Germany Volkswagen. In 1982, China purchased 100 Santana units from Volkswagen and assembled them in Shanghai Automobile Plant for trial. The first Volkswagen Santana produced in Shanghai Automobile Plant was delivered in 1983. On October 10, 1984, the joint venture contract of SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. was signed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Chinese and German parties each invested 50% of the company, and the contract period was 25 years. Two days later, Vice Premier Li Peng of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany laid the foundation stone for SAIC Volkswagen. Shanghai Volkswagen began automobile production in 1985. As car imports fell to some 34,000 in 1990, SAIC Volkswagen's production of its Santana models reached nearly 19,000 vehicles that year. By 1993 SAIC Volkswagen's output had reached 100,000 vehicles.

Volkswagen was aided by some Shanghai municipal efforts. Various restrictions on engine size, as well as incentives to city taxi companies, helped ensure a safe market in the company's relatively wealthy home arena. The Shanghai plant was by far the winner among all new JVs, as it produced cars that could function as taxis, vehicles for government officials and transport for the newly emerging business elite. Volkswagen also encouraged its foreign parts suppliers to create joint ventures in China, and their resulting product helped SAIC Volkswagen achieve an 85 per cent local content rate by 1993. In May 2018, SAIC Volkswagen started to export the Santana, Lavida, Lamando, and Tiguan to the Philippines as part of the new ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). The joint venture was also in the process of building an electric-car plant in Anting, near Shanghai by late 2018; it was expected to make 300,000 e-vehicles per year, starting in 2020.https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies/vw-revamps-production-electric-age-981646

On 12 April 2002, SAIC Motor renewed its contract with Volkswagen and extended the term of cooperation for another 20 years. Chinese Communist Party former general secretary Jiang Zemin attended the signature ceremony. Shanghai Volkswagen Sales Co. Ltd, established on 19 October 2000, as the first joint venture in vehicle sales in China.

On 11 April 2005, the Czech automotive brand Škoda Auto was introduced after signing a contract. The first model for the brand was the Škoda Octavia built by Shanghai Volkswagen and commenced production on June 6, 2007. This followed with the Škoda Fabia in December 2008, the Superb in August 2009, the Škoda Rapid in April 2013 and the long wheelbase Škoda Yeti seven months later.

To complete the model lineup for the Chinese market, the Škoda Kodiaq was officially listed in March 2017, followed by the Škoda Karoq in January 2018 and the Chinese built Škoda Kamiq six months later.

SAIC Volkswagen started vehicle export shipments in January 2018 which targets left-hand drive Southeast Asian markets. Prior to this, the company briefly exported several hundred Volkswagen Polo sedans to Australia in 2004.

On December 7, 2015, Shanghai Volkswagen was renamed SAIC Volkswagen. After the name change, SAIC Volkswagen will assume all the rights and obligations of the original company, and the company's business scope and business relationships will remain unchanged. In fact, the reason why Shanghai Volkswagen was renamed SAIC Volkswagen is that automobile manufacturers need to comply with the regulations formulated by relevant national departments that "manufacturer brands cannot be named after regions."

In June 2018, Audi acquired a 1% stake in SAIC Volkswagen, which means that SAIC Volkswagen can produce Audi-branded models in the future.

On October 27, 2020, the pure electric vehicle ID.4 X officially went into production.

In mid 2025, SAIC Volkswagen halted production in its Nanjing plant, with plans to close it in the second half of the year. The remaining production will be relocated to the neighboring Yizheng plant.

On March 26, 2026, Škoda Auto announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market due to the transition to electrification and growing competition against local car brands.

Facilities

+NameLocationFoundedAnnual capacityProductionNo. 1 Auto PlantAnting, Shanghai1984Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Tharu XR, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Lavida, Audi A5L Sportback, Audi A7LNo. 2 Auto Plant1992No. 3 Auto Plant1999New Energy Vehicle Plant2020300,000 vehiclesVolkswagen ID.3, Volkswagen ID.4 X, Volkswagen ID.6 X, Audi Q5 e-tronYizheng BranchYizheng, Jiangsu2012600,000 vehiclesVolkswagen Tharu, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Passat ProNingbo PlantNingbo, Zhejiang2013300,000 vehiclesVolkswagen ID. Era 9X, Volkswagen Lamando, Volkswagen Tharu, Volkswagen Teramont, Volkswagen Teramont Pro, Volkswagen Viloran, Audi Q6Changsha PlantChangsha, Hunan2015300,000 vehiclesVolkswagen Lavida, Volkswagen Touran

Current products Audi

AUDI

Volkswagen

Former products Škoda

Volkswagen

Concept cars NameRevealProductionNotesModelRevealAUDI EAuto Guangzhou 2024AUDI E5Auto Shanghai 2025Deliveries Summer 2025AUDI E SUVAuto Guangzhou 2025AUDI E7XAuto China 2026Volkswagen ID. EraAuto Shanghai 2025VW ID. Era 9XEREV, deliveries expected Q1 2026Audi A6 e-tron conceptAuto Shanghai 2021Audi A6L e-tronAuto Shanghai 2025Audi AI:MEAuto Shanghai 2021Volkswagen ID.CrozzAuto Shanghai 2017VW ID.4 XSkoda Vision EAuto Shanghai 2017Skoda EnyaqNot sold in China

Sales Calendar year Total sales 1985 1,684 1986 8,471 1987 11,038 1988 15,542 1989 15,581 1990 18,523 1991 33,587 1992 65,952 1993 100,030 1994 115,295 1995 159,765 1996 200,031 1997 230,186 1998 235,020 1999 230,699 2000 222,216 2001 230,050 2002 301,712 2003 396,023 2004 355,006 2005 250,006 2006 349,088 2007 456,424 2008 490,087 2009 728,239 2010 1.0 millionb 2011 1.16 millionb 2012 1.28 million 2013 1.53 million 2014 1.73 million 2015 1.81 million 2016 2.0 million 2017 2.06 million 2018 2.06 million 2019 2.0 million 2020 1.5 million 2021 1.24 million 2022 1.32 million 2023 1.21 million20241.15 million

SAIC Volkswagen

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