NEWS

Beijing/Hefei, 21 February 2023 – Under the theme of “Pioneering at Anhui Speed”, Volkswagen Anhui successfully held its 2nd Supplier Conference in the city of Hefei. The event was an opportunity to showcase Volkswagen Anhui’s commitment to building a strong value chain and developing Hefei into one of China’s key hubs for electric mobility thanks to concerted efforts from local partners. Mr. Yu Aihua, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee and Municipal Party Secretary of Hefei, representatives from the Hefei municipal government and other local governments, as well as over 350 supplier partners from a wide range of industries, like construction, IT, logistics, and components, joined the event. Together, they are ushering in a new era of Volkswagen “in China for China”. 

With strong support from local government and supplier partners, Volkswagen Anhui underlined its commitment to building a strong Automotive value chain in Anhui and turning the Hefei into a key innovation hub for electric mobility. To date, around 300 production suppliers and 800 general purchasing suppliers are on board with Volkswagen Anhui. 38 are also settling down newly in the province, bringing with them a collective investment of 7.1 billion RMB. The People’s Government of Hefei has also been immensely supportive of Volkswagen Anhui’s efforts through its policy work in industrial development, environmental protection, and public services. As Party Secretary Yu Aihua said, The Hefei government strives to be a good ‘chief service officer’” in Hefei’s NEV industry, and work with all parties to build a more brilliant future. 

Dr. Erwin Gabardi, CEO of Volkswagen Anhui said, “The conference was a chance for us to express gratitude and share our expectations with local governments, our supplier partners, and the dedicated VWA team. It was omnipresent that acting as one family was the source of our strength during the recent challenging times, and so will it be heading towards our first SOP by the end of 2023 and going forward.” 

As an important part of Volkswagen Anhui’s NEV industry value chain, DSSO, a digital sales and services company established by the Volkswagen Group China in May 2022, will help Volkswagen Anhui to build digital competitiveness in sales and aftersales services. Mr. Yang Fang, CEO of DSSO said, “as an innovation-driven, dynamic company with an open mind, DSSO aims to develop more forward-looking and innovative products and services together with our partners, ensuring that we will always provide our customers with excellent product experiences.”

“We are going to invest a total of 23.1 billion RMB in the R&D, production, and sales of NEVs in China. With such investment, a strong manufacturing and supplier base, as well as our world-leading R&D competence and all-round NEV value chain, we are well on track to deliver the most competitive and attractive electric vehicles to our customers,” said Dr. Jürgen Hasenpusch, CFO of Volkswagen Anhui.

Dr. Ludger Lührmann, CTO of Volkswagen Anhui, stated, “We are vigorously developing research and development equipment and improving research and development capabilities. And now, the R&D Proving Ground has been officially put into operation to carry out the related testing of autonomous driving and IOV technology and the development of software applications for our NEVs.” 

Mr. Dirk Grosse-Loheide, Chief Purchasing Officer of Volkswagen Group, and Mr. Michael Baecker, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group China responsible for Purchasing underlined that the activities in Hefei are the basis for the ‘in China for China’ supplier strategy with which Volkswagen Anhui aims to accelerate its development in the market, fulfilling local customer preferences, implementing local technology, and further optimizing costs.

With the help of its growing family of supplier partners, Volkswagen Anhui is ready to embark on a new journey in electric mobility.

Volkswagen Anhui successfully holds its 2nd Supplier Conference in Hefei

Dr. Erwin Gabardi, CEO of Volkswagen Anhui, expresses gratitude and shares expectations with partners

Mr. Frank Yang, CEO of DSSO, introduces the development and business plan of the company

Dr. Jürgen Hasenpusch, CFO of Volkswagen Anhui, interprets the investment situation of supplier partners in Anhui

Dr. Ludger Lührmann, CTO of Volkswagen Anhui, shares about the local R&D capabilities of Volkswagen Anhui

Mr. Dirk Große-Loheide, Chief Purchasing Officer of Volkswagen Group, delivers a video speech

Mr. Michael Bäcker, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group China responsible for Purchasing, interprets Group’s supplier chain management