It was reported on the Internet that the three OEMs of SAIC Volkswagen in Anting, Shanghai are undergoing production line adjustments: the first factory (mainly producing small cars such as Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabricia) will open in July 2022. The production ended in January, and it has been permanently shut down, and some production lines have been relocated to Yizheng, Jiangsu; the second factory has started a combined shift, and the two production shifts have been merged into one shift; the third factory may start a combined shift in the second half of this year.
A few days ago, SAIC Volkswagen responded to these rumors to the media, saying that “this is patchwork information”, which is actually a part of a series of actions of SAIC Volkswagen’s electrification transformation and Anting base upgrade and transformation.
▲ Image source: SAIC Volkswagen official
According to the Sino-Singapore Jingwei report, SAIC Volkswagen stated that the closure of the first plant and the combination of the second plant is a “transformation and upgrading” measure, and it is also “a part of the rational planning of the production layout of its electric vehicles and fuel vehicles.” After the transformation and upgrading of the No. 1 Automobile Factory, some fuel-fueled models will be transferred to Yizheng Factory for production, so as to give full play to the potential of the base outside Shanghai. The plant’s employees will continue to support production at the MEB plant and other plants after undergoing relevant training. The Anting base will rely on the MEB factory and related supporting and R&D bases to focus on electrification, intelligent manufacturing, and user-oriented R&D capabilities.
As for how the first factory will use the waste heat in the future, SAIC Volkswagen said that the first automobile factory will further expand the functions of the R&D center. The second phase of the R&D center located in the first automobile factory has been fully put into use in 2021.
According to the plan of SAIC Volkswagen, in the future Anting will be built into a modern headquarters park with the world’s leading level integrating “management headquarters, intelligent manufacturing base, R&D and innovation base” and other functions.
It is learned from the official website of SAIC Volkswagen that SAIC Volkswagen Co., Ltd. is a Sino-German joint venture, jointly operated by SAIC and Volkswagen Group. The company signed a contract and laid the foundation stone in October 1984, and is one of the oldest automobile joint ventures in China. The company is headquartered in Anting, Shanghai, and has successively established production bases in Nanjing, Yizheng, Urumqi, Ningbo, Changsha and other places.
The 26 millionth car of SAIC Volkswagen rolled off the production line on January 18. At present, the brand is vigorously transforming to new energy sources and has launched a variety of ID. models.
