German automaker Volkswagen AG yesterday said it is in talks about forming a joint venture to develop electric vehicles with China’s Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (JAC, 安徽江淮汽車).
The move is part of Volkswagen’s new push into electric vehicles after its reputation was damaged by a scandal over diesel vehicles rigged to cheat on emissions testing. Volkswagen aims to come up with 30 new models over the next 10 years.
Electric vehicles so far are not a major part of the global car market. However, companies are working on them in hopes that battery range will improve, and to meet tougher emissions standards.
Volkswagen said it had signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with Jianghuai to evaluate the possibility of joining forces. No financial details were disclosed.
The announcement also follows Chinese government policy changes to spur electric vehicle development. Beijing last year said automakers will be allowed to create separate electric vehicle brands that will face less complex ownership and other regulations than traditional internal combustion manufacturers.
Chinese buyers have been put off by the limited travel range of electrics and reports of batteries catching fire. However, the government is trying to encourage sales by offering incentives, including exemption from sales taxes and quotas on new license plates.
Jianghuai is little-known abroad but ranks No. 9 among auto brands in China in total number of cars and sport utility vehicles (SUV) sold. The company already sells an all-electric sedan, the iEV.
Demand in China for all-electric models is modest but Jianghuai said iEV sales in April, the latest month reported, rose 400 percent to 2,331 vehicles. First quarter sales were 4,410 units.
Jianghuai’s total sales of cars, trucks and SUVs in the first seven months rose 11.4 percent from the same period last year to 370,000 units, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The company announced an agreement in April to provide manufacturing for NextEV, a start-up electric car brand backed by Chinese technology companies. The first cars are due out next year.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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