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Volkswagen Gifts SEAT a Facility Center in China

Last summer, Volkswagen’s Spanish brand SEAT announced its intention to enter the Chinese market, courtesy of mother company’s joint venture with local company JAC. Although the official date of entry was not announced at the time, a major step toward taken this week in Spain points to that year being 2020.
SEAT to open R&D center in china as it moves to launch locally 1 photo
Photo: Stefan Baldauf / Guido Ten Brink
In the presence of a handful of Chinese officials visiting Spain, SEAT said on Monday that it will open a research and development center in the Chinese city of Hefei in the Anhui Province. The Hefei location is the the one rumored Volkswagen has chosen to build an electric car plant, following an investment of $750 million.

It’s not clear yet whether the carmaker’s expansion into China will mean SEAT-branded cars will be sold on the world’s largest automotive market, and no other specific details on the project announced for the center were provided.

SEAT did say the site will be in charge with developing small electric cars, mobility solutions, components, but also technologies for automotive applications.

Last year, Volkswagen Group China’s CEO Jochem Heizmann said taking the Spanish brand to Asia is a requirement because “electrified cars are the future of mobility, and China is at the forefront of developing sustainable e-mobility solutions.”

According to the info provided by SEAT, its R&D center in the country should be up and running in 2021.

Overall, this move is part of Volkswagen’s Roadmap E plan, a business strategy that should see the German group become the largest electric car maker in the world.

By the end of 2022, no less than 16 VW facilities the group operates around the world will be manufacturing EVs. The first such car, the ID.3, was just put on sale by the Germans.

JAC Volkswagen is one of the major joint ventures currently operating on the Chinese market, selling more than 3 million cars yearly.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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