As Dr. Schwab points out, it is not enough to offer the technology to build EVs, but it’s also important to create a whole infrastructure and mobility platform. For this reason VW has invested in a joint-venture for creating a fast-charging infrastructure and offers additional digital services around mobility. 

When it comes to autonomous driving, the Chinese approach seems to be very different to our approach in Europe:
Already today there is an extensive traffic surveillance system in China. The goal is to further expand this system and have the intelligence not only within but mainly outside of the car, explains Dr. Schwab.

Paul Knecht

As the economic situation is improving for the Chinese citizens, the living standards also improves. This means modern apartments, modern clothing and electronic gadgets. But when it comes to mobility, traffic is one of the biggest problem. The answer to this issue that the Chinese government and also Volkswagen China pursues is electronic and smart mobility. Dr. Schwab drops a few buzzword what this can mean: Autonomous driving, smart parking spots, two-wheel vehicles …
The government follows this approach very strict by offering incentives for buyers but also demanding the OEMs to sell at least 10 percent electric vehicles.

„At Volkswagen we are very well prepared for these challenges. We’re investing over €4bn in e-mobility – alone this year and we’re introducing 30 new EVs in the next two years.“

Paul Knecht