👀 Ones to watch: The MOST undervalued stocks to buy right nowSee Undervalued Stocks

Volkswagen to test autonomous vehicles in Chinese city Hefei

Published 08/26/2020, 10:04 AM
Updated 08/26/2020, 10:50 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is seen on a car parked on a street in Paris
VOWG_p
-
600418
-

BEIJING (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (DE:VOWG_p) said on Wednesday it will start testing autonomous vehicles in China's eastern city of Hefei, its first in the world's biggest car market.

China has become a hot spot for trying out autonomous driving vehicles. Toyota-backed (T:7203) Pony.ai, Baidu Inc (O:BIDU), Nissan-backed (T:7201) WeRide and Didi Chuxing are all testing autonomous cars in different cities as automakers and tech companies are investing billions in the technology.

Volkswagen, the biggest foreign automaker in China, will start the test in Hefei with Audi's e-tron electric sport utility vehicles from September, it said in a statement. The test will be open to the public from next year.

In May, Volkswagen said it would invest 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) to take a 50% stake in the state-owned parent of Chinese electronic vehicle group JAC. Volkswagen will also take full management control of its existing electric vehicle joint venture with JAC in Hefei by raising its stake to 75% from 50%.

Volkswagen also has ventures with state-owned China FAW Group Corp Ltd [SASACJ.UL] and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd (SS:600104).

The German car company sold 1.59 million vehicles in China in the first six months of 2020, down 17% from 1.92 million vehicles in the same period last year. For all of 2019, Volkswagen sold around 4.23 million vehicles in the country.

In June Volkswagen closed its $2.6 billion investment in Pittsburgh-based self-driving startup Argo AI, in which Ford Motor Co (N:F) also has a stake.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is seen on a car parked on a street in Paris

($1 = 0.8465 euros)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.