VW to follow Tesla and BMW in selling Chinese-built EVs in Europe

Volkswagen will follow Tesla, BMW and other carmakers in exporting electric vehicles from China to Europe, citing limited production capacity in its home market.

The German carmaker’s sporty Spanish brand, Cupra, will produce its first electric SUV, the Tavascan, at one of its joint venture factories in Anhui, Volkswagen said. Built on the same hardware and software platforms as the ID series, it is due to hit the European market in 2024.

“The Anhui factory was the plant with the right capacity and technology at the time of production planning,” VW said, adding it had no plans to produce other vehicles in China for export.

VW is working on its fiveyear financial plan to decide which new models will be built in which factories and how much money to invest in those locations by the middle of the decade. Those decisions hinge on the launch of software platforms for forthcoming electric models that the company has repeatedly had to delay.

Electric models already being shipped from Chinese factories to European showrooms include Tesla’s Model 3, BMW’s iX3 and Renault’s Dacia Spring. PwC recently predicted vehicle makers will sell 800,000 cars imported into Europe from China.