2024-09-19 04:35:24
Volkswagen is considering closing factories in China. Production of the Passat models could be relocated.
Due to dwindling demand for vehicles with combustion engines, Volkswagen and its Chinese partner SAIC are considering closing a plant in the People’s Republic. To this end, production of the Passat models will be relocated from Nanjing to another nearby factory, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. VW did not want to comment on the matter. SAIC was not immediately available for comment.
Some of the employees from Nanjing will also move to the other plant, the insider continued. However, there is no timetable yet. It is also unclear whether the factory in Nanjing will be closed or sold. Regardless of this, the two car manufacturers are considering boosting sales of the “Skoda” brand again. Skoda currently only accounts for one percent of the sales of the joint venture SAIC-VW. In 2017, the share was still 17 percent.
The Bloomberg news agency was the first to report on planned plant closures. Two other insiders, however, stressed that the Ningbo plant, which is threatened with closure, is not up for discussion. Volkswagen was the most successful vehicle manufacturer in China for many years. However, due to growing domestic and foreign competition, its market share has recently declined.