VW and FAW's EV-Making Chinese JV Named Kaili

In order to become a big global player, Volkswagen’s electric vehicle dreams have to extend way past the European and North American markets. Our Romanian division reports that it has almost become a trend that big carmakers launch a new brand for the Chinese market. General Motors has BaoJun, and now Volswagen has also formed a new entity for the ever-growing market.

Das Auto has joined forces with FAW Group Corp to establish the Kaili brand, which will specialize in electric vehicles for the market. No details are available for future models, but a production plan has been submitted to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Automotive News reports.

Establishing a new brand to attract Chinese consumers is sure to become a priority for most automakers operating in the region if they want to have local appeal. General Motors was the one who kicked off the trend with its BaoJun brand and Honda soon followed with its partnership to Guangqi Honda Co. The resulting Everus model is based on the Honda Fit. In addition, Nissan and Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co., have launched the Venucia brand, with sales of Chinese-made cars to start late in the year.

VW’s joint venture with FAW builds Audi’s luxury models as well as a range of upscale Volkswagen vehicle’s such as the Golf, New Bora, Magotan, and Passat CC. Back in 2008, Chinese automaker FAW introduced the Besturn B50, which was a four-door sedan based on the outgoing Mazda6 platform. It was powered by either a 1.6-liter or a 2.0-liter gasoline engine.