Volkswagen Group China announced on Thursday, February 29, its partnership with Chinese electric vehicle startup XPeng to jointly develop two intelligent connected vehicle models for the Chinese market.

The two models, slated to hit the market in 2026, will be equipped with state-of-the-art software and hardware, offering Chinese customers an intuitive, connected digital experience and advanced automated driving functions.

Through the partnership, the two parties have entered a joint procurement programme for common vehicle and platform parts, reducing the development time of the companies’ electric vehicles by over 30 per cent.

Volkswagen Group China is Volkswagen’s largest development center outside Germany, and located in Hefei, the capital of east China’s Anhui Province, acting as a central interface to ensure the best possible synergies of the two parties.