Following last December, the cooperation between Xpeng Motors and Volkswagen has made new progress, on February 29, Xpeng Motors and Volkswagen Group signed a platform and software strategic technology cooperation joint development agreement, which is also the following Volkswagen's acquisition of Xpeng Motors 4After the announcement of 99% shares and the strategic technical cooperation framework agreement reached between the two sides, the strategic cooperation between the two sides has made another major progress. At this rate, the progress of Xpeng and Volkswagen is still very rapid.
Volkswagen China's Managing Director Brad Brad also said that China is the world's largest and fastest-growing electric vehicle market, and speed is crucial if you want to develop a market segment with great development potential and gain a leading edge. This can also be seen from Volkswagen's product strategy, which has also made Volkswagen the fastest and most active among traditional brands, and its market share has also been guaranteed.
Volkswagen also said that the partnership with Xpeng will allow us to shorten the product development cycle, improve efficiency, and optimize the cost structure. In a highly sensitive market environment, this will also greatly enhance the economic competitiveness of products. The big sales of the ID series models are also inseparable from the relatively favorable pricing.
And with Volkswagen's participation, in 2023, Xpeng Motors will start cost reduction projects in many fields including power systems, vehicle hardware, and ** chains, accelerating the goal of reducing costs by 25% by the end of 2024. In the near future, we may see more cost-effective new energy models.
Speaking of which, you may have questions, why did Volkswagen choose Xiaopeng to cooperate with so many excellent new energy brands in China? When seeking cooperation, we basically learn from each other's strengths, let's first figure out, what is the public missing? That is undoubtedly the shortcoming of autonomous driving and intelligent cockpit, and the screen on the ID series models has been complained about by many consumers.
So compared with other new power brands, Xiaopeng's intelligent technology architecture is relatively perfect, and the speed of R&D iteration is also very fast, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the first echelon of the industry, and the high efficiency and low-cost adaptability of the Fuyao architecture are also a plus for Xiaopeng. In addition, Xiaopeng also needed capital injection to return blood at that time, and the cooperation between the two was only a matter of course.
If you don't seek cooperation, relying on the German market environment and local engineers, if you want to come up with this set of things, I'm afraid it will be the year of the monkey. As an independent car company, Xpeng will obviously be more in line with the domestic market and user needs.
In any case, as an independent new power car company, Xiaopeng can be recognized by traditional automobile manufacturers, which is a matter of pride. This also proves that the technology research and development of new energy vehicles of our domestic independent car companies is at the forefront of the world.
And according to the official, the first model launched by the two sides will be put into production in Hefei in 2026, and now it is only the beginning of 2024, the domestic ** war has been so fierce, Xiaomi cars will enter the game later, so by 2026, will the daylily be cold? Let's start with the answer, no.
Volkswagen's electrification plan and goals clearly state that Volkswagen will launch more than 10 pure electric models in the Chinese market in 2024, mainly based on MEB and PPE platforms, and more than 20 pure electric vehicles in 2027, and the SSP platform is expected to be launched in the late stage, and by 2030, Volkswagen will provide at least 30 pure electric models in the Chinese market.
It can be seen that the current mainstream strategic planning of Volkswagen is still "self-reliance", and the two new models in cooperation with Xpeng are only a small part of the new energy sector. The new models in 2026 are at most icing on the cake for Volkswagen and Xpeng, rather than a send-off.
Judging from this cooperation, it is actually a win-win situation. For Volkswagen, Xpeng's autonomous driving, intelligent cockpit and electrification platform and other technologies are ready-made, with these technology empowerment, coupled with the original inherent advantages, Volkswagen can catch up with the footsteps of domestic car companies in a shorter time, and can also give full play to these technologies, in which the things and experience that can be learned are of great help to Volkswagen.
Shiyi's long skills to control Yi, this sentence was the state of our Chinese car companies before, but I didn't expect it to be used in the traditional joint venture car companies now, sure enough, 30 years in Hedong, 30 years in Hexi.
So for Xpeng, the most important thing is that with the capital injection of the Volkswagen Group, it can continue to develop and manufacture to a large extent, and maintain its advantages in the field of intelligence and driving. And with the endorsement of the Volkswagen brand, it can also make consumers feel more at ease to a certain extent. In addition, on the basis of joint procurement, Volkswagen will continue to help Xpeng optimize the cost of the first chain and improve product strength. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a win-win situation.
So what are the prospects for the cooperation between the two companies? Will there be more such forms of cooperation in the future? Although the automobile market is changing rapidly, the professor is still very optimistic about the cooperation cases between Volkswagen and Xpeng, because before that, there were also cases such as Mercedes-Benz and BYD, Toyota BYD, and Audi and SAIC Zhiji.
It can be said that it is not uncommon for overseas car companies to seek cooperation with domestic car companies, and there is a high probability that there will be more of this model in the future.
The strategic cooperation between Volkswagen and Xpeng is a microcosm of the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry, and in the future, strategic alliances among major automotive brands may become the development trend of the entire industry. In this highly competitive new energy market, it is obviously better to find "allies" than to fight alone. If the decision is too slow, then you will not be eliminated from the competition.