Xpeng: VW receives Chinese help

Dynamic new VW partner: Exhibition booth of the Chinese start-up Xpeng at Auto China in Shanghai last spring.

Volkswagen is sneered at for relying on Chinese help in its race to catch up on the electric mobility market. But its new partner Xpeng could prove to be the right choice. The company has precisely the technology VW needs. And vice versa, it could also benefit from the market power of the Germans.

To some observers, it seemed like a surrender of the German car industry: Last week, Volkswagen announced plans to acquire a stake in the small Chinese EV start-up Xpeng (小鹏汽车 ). For 700 million euros, Volkswagen secured a five percent stake in the Guangzhou-based company. The Germans indirectly admitted that the company could not catch up on the electric car market without Chinese help.

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