Volkswagen and XPENG announces electric cars collaboration

Chinese electric car maker XPENG and Volkswagen Group today announced a “Master Agreement” for software and platform collaboration and the release of the first electric cars over the next few years.

There are three things to know about this partnership:

• Platform and software collaboration
• Sourcing program
• Development of BEVs

Companies will engage in a joint sourcing program for the common parts of vehicles and platforms that will be used by both Volkswagen and XPENG in new products.

The joint sourcing of these automakers aims to reduce the price of the platform and make it efficient for new vehicles.

Volkswagen says that joint purchasing activities and the use of technologies in the design and engineering phase will reduce development time by more than 30 percent.

The German automaker currently has a 4.99 percent stake in Guangzhou-based Xpeng with a $700 million investment.

The agreement also includes the joint development of two B-class battery electric vehicles but also paves the way for an extended and announces more possibilities for such development in the future.

Among these two vehicles, the first will be an electric SUV and scheduled to launch as early as 2026. However, there are no design details or specifications shared about the vehicles.

(source – Volkswagen)