Manufacturing the electric Tiguan in Europe costs 8,000 euros more: Volkswagen looks to China to avoid it
Volkswagen is about to make a vital decision in its electrification strategy in Europe. As other brands have done, its work and efforts in China could have a direct impact on future European cars from VW, CUPRA, and Skoda.
There could not be a clearer demonstration of the importance that Chinese technology is gaining in the global automotive industry. It is not just that cars from Chinese brands are arriving en masse to the European continent, but they are also entering directly into the 'centers' of Western manufacturers.
Volkswagen, which has been working for a few years in China with Xpeng developing and implementing technology in its latest generation cars for China, is about to take another step in its strategy in the Asian giant. Its software and electric cars could reach European roads.
The Chinese electric architecture of VW to reduce costs
In this case, the German magazine Manager Magazin, citing internal sources from the company itself, has announced the new intentions of Volkswagen's top leaders. The architecture called CEA (Chinese Electric Architecture) of the brand could reach future electric cars sold here.
This will have a direct effect on the high-volume models of Volkswagen, CUPRA, and Skoda, specifically for compact and larger models. In other words, the current generation of newly launched urban electric vehicles, led by the VW ID. Polo, and the upcoming smaller ID.1 with Rivian technology, would not be affected.
Volkswagen wants to start using this CEA architecture more broadly, so that they can save between four and five billion euros in the development of their future electric cars, according to internal calculations of the company. VW ID. Golf, ID. Passat, and Skoda Enyaq are among the bets.
At least, that is what Volkswagen's CEO, Thomas Schfer, will propose in the next board of directors meeting of the Group. A decision that could affect, according to estimates, three-quarters of all future cars from these three brands.
The CEA architecture belongs to Volkswagen
We have often talked about how agreements are made between Western brands and Chinese ones to develop new technology. In VW's case, it was stated that the CEA architecture and the derived models for the Chinese market would be developed exclusively for the customers of the Asian giant.
However, the VW Group is determined to make a deep change in its technological strategy, considering that the intellectual property rights of this technology, developed since 2023 alongside Xpeng, belong to the group.
All with a single objective: to save costs. Even with the joint venture with the American Rivian, RV Tech, the differences are considerable. Now the concern is that this agreement, which will produce the smallest electric VW, could become slower and more expensive in the long run.
VW estimates that one hour of development in RVT costs about four times more than at the development center VCTC in Hefei, China. Hence the figures: a model like the electric Tiguanwould cost about 8,000 euros more to develop and manufacture in Europe, compared to China.
VW's electric cars in China, for Europe
This is the other aspect of the intentions announced by Volkswagen. Not only the software and the 'Made in China' architecture could end up in Europe. Models like the electric SUV ID. AURA T6, the PHEV sedan ID. ERA 5S, or the huge electric sedan ID. UNYX 9x with 730 kilometers of range, could end up on this side of the world.
However, the first two come from Volkswagen's collaboration with SAIC, the parent company of brands like MG, for example, and are receiving a great welcome in the Chinese market. On the other hand, the ID. UNYX 9x comes precisely from VW's joint venture with Xpeng, the Chinese tech startup, although this seems to be too large (more than 5 meters) for the brand’s philosophy in Europe.
In statements by Volkswagen's CEO to the British media Autocar during the past Paris Motor Show, Thomas Schfer said that these models would not come to replace any current model in the range: “Looking to the future, we are preparing to import one or more vehicles from China,” he assured.
* This news is an AI translation of the original content. Motenic.com is part of Motor.es.