XPeng Inc. (09868.HK/XPEV.US) and Volkswagen Group have signed an agreement to expand their strategic cooperation on electronic and electrical architecture technology.
The jointly developed electronic and electrical architecture will not only be integrated into Volkswagen's pure electric vehicle platforms in the Chinese market, but will also be deployed on Volkswagen's gasoline and plug-in hybrid vehicle platforms in China. This strategic technical cooperation will extend to broader markets.
The expanded partnership will accelerate Volkswagen Group's software-defined vehicle strategy and strengthen the global competitiveness of Volkswagen models. Through the platformization of electronic and electrical architecture, it will enable rapid software iteration and over-the-air updates, significantly shortening vehicle development cycles.
XPeng Chairman He Xiaopeng commented: "This expanded cooperation agreement represents another important milestone in our partnership following the joint development agreement signed on July 22, 2024. This move not only demonstrates the deep mutual trust in our long-term strategic partnership, but also showcases our firm determination and forward-looking vision for continuous technological innovation and value creation in the core technology field of smart electric vehicles."
Ralf Brandstätter, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Group responsible for China and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, stated: "The application of advanced technological achievements should not be limited to a single powertrain form. All brands under Volkswagen Group are committed to providing customers with the most advanced solutions in all market segments. By extending the CEA architecture to the Group's strong gasoline vehicle product matrix, the Group will further consolidate its technological leadership in the traditional powertrain vehicle market. Meanwhile, in China's highly competitive automotive market, we continue to optimize our cost structure to ensure we always provide highly attractive vehicle options for our customers. This will create stronger strategic depth for us, providing more space for our targeted frontier innovation investments and helping us accelerate toward a fully connected smart electric future."
On April 17, 2024, XPeng Inc. and Volkswagen Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement for EEA electronic and electrical architecture technology. Both parties will jointly develop and integrate it into Volkswagen's CMP platform in China based on XPeng's latest generation electronic and electrical architecture. The jointly developed electronic and electrical architecture is expected to be applied to Volkswagen brand electric vehicles produced in China starting from 2026.
On July 22, 2024, XPeng Inc. and Volkswagen Group jointly announced the signing of a joint development agreement for electronic and electrical architecture technology strategic cooperation. Both parties will fully commit to developing industry-leading electronic and electrical architecture for Volkswagen's CMP and MEB platforms produced in China. Starting from 2026, all pure electric vehicle models launched by Volkswagen brand in the Chinese market will be equipped with this electronic and electrical architecture.