Volkswagen and its Chinese partner SAIC have shuttered production at a plant in China due to slowing demand for internal combustion engine cars, a Volkswagen spokesman told AFP Friday.
鈥榁olkswagen Group and its joint venture partners are accelerating the transformation towards electric, intelligent, connected vehicles,鈥� the spokesman said.
鈥楳any SAIC Volkswagen sites are currently being converted or have already been converted for electric vehicle production,鈥� he added.
The spokesman confirmed that production had ceased at a plant in Nanjing, a move first reported by business daily Handelsblatt.
A company source told AFP that part of the reason for stopping production was the plant鈥檚 urban location, which makes retrofitting and expansion work for electric vehicle (EV) production difficult.
EV sales are far advanced in China, the world鈥檚 largest car market, forcing European companies that have traditionally specialised in petrol or diesel vehicles to respond.
