Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker XPeng and the Volkswagen Group announced on Thursday a significant development in their partnership. Following XPENG’s previous announcements regarding Volkswagen’s purchase of a 4.99% stake in XPENG and a framework agreement on strategic technical collaboration, the two companies have now entered into a Master Agreement on Platform and Software strategic technical collaboration.
This Master Agreement marks a key milestone in the strategic partnership between XPeng and Volkswagen. The agreement is expected to accelerate the joint development of B-class battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and lay the foundation for deeper collaboration in the future.
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Under the Master Agreement, XPeng and Volkswagen have also launched a Joint Sourcing Program for common vehicle parts and platform components. By combining their scale and leveraging Volkswagen’s supply chain expertise, the program aims to reduce platform costs and achieve significant synergies for the strategic partnership and competitiveness of the jointly developed B-class BEVs.
XPeng’s Chairman and CEO, Mr. Xiaopeng He, commented on the agreement, stating, “The signing of the Master Agreement represents another significant milestone we achieved together with our partner Volkswagen Group. Combining Volkswagen’s highly reputable vehicle development and engineering capability with XPENG’s Smart EV technologies, we will deliver the best smart EV products to Chinese consumers.”
Ralf Brandstätter, Board Member of Volkswagen AG for China, highlighted the importance of speed in the rapidly growing EV market. “To constantly increase our local portfolio, we are expanding our own development capacities in China,” he said. “Through the partnership with XPENG, we are not only accelerating development times but also boosting efficiency and optimizing cost structures.”
Brandstätter emphasized the collaborative nature of the partnership, stating, “The fast finalization of the Master Agreement after the strategic partnership announcement last year already shows the great potential of this collaboration. The two teams are working closely together with a clear goal: to combine the strengths of both parties to bring smart products onto the road for our customers.”
