SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd., formerly known as Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in
Anting, Shanghai
Anting () is a town in Jiading District, Shanghai, bordering Kunshan, Jiangsu to the west. It has 96,000 inhabitants and, after the July 2009 merger of Huangdu (), an area of . , China and a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
and
SAIC Motor
SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Anting, Shanghai. Founded in 1955, it is currently the largest of the " Big Four" state-owned car manu ...
. It was founded in 1984 and produces cars under the
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
,
Škoda
Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
and
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
marque
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
s. It is the second automobile manufacturing joint venture in China after American Motors and the first German car manufacturer to enter China.
The joint venture is made up of equity from Volkswagen AG (40%), Volkswagen (China) Invest (10%), SAIC Motor (50%), with a fixed-term venture for 45 years. It will run until 2030.
SAIC Volkswagen sold a total of 1.16 million vehicles in 2011.
History
The joint venture was formed in October 1984, as Shanghai Volkswagen. This was a 25-year contract to make passenger cars in Shanghai with a limit of 50 percent foreign ownership.
[
] Shanghai Volkswagen began automobile production in 1985. As car imports fell to some 34,000 in 1990, SAIC Volkswagen's production of its
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
models reached nearly 19,000 vehicles that year. By 1993 SAIC Volkswagen's output had reached 100,000 vehicles.
Volkswagen was aided by some Shanghai municipal efforts. Various restrictions on engine size, as well as incentives to city taxi companies, helped ensure a safe market in the company's relatively wealthy home arena. The Shanghai plant was by the far the winner among all new JVs, as it produced cars that could function as taxis, vehicles for government officials and transport for the newly emerging business elite. Volkswagen also encouraged its foreign parts suppliers to create joint ventures in China, and their resulting product helped SAIC Volkswagen achieve an 85 per cent local content rate by 1993.
[Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...]
. The joint venture was also in the process of building an electric-car plant in Anting, near
by late 2018; it was expected to make 300,000 e-vehicles per year, starting in 2020.