To say that Volkswagen's EV program is not going very well would be an understatement. The German carmaker is trying to energize EV development with the help of Chinese companies. After Audi announced a partnership with SAIC, Volkswagen bought a 5% stake in EV startup XPeng with plans to build at least two EV models using its G9 platform.
After Oliver Blume took the helm of the Volkswagen Group in September 2022, all previously announced plans were put on hold. The EV program, which his predecessor Herbert Diess tried to fast-track, suffered the most. Several projects, including a new EV factory, were scrapped, while others were delayed. As Volkswagen was already behind its peers in EV development, this led to unwanted consequences.
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