On May 27th, delegation from the Chinese government visited the SEAT headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona) to meet with the JAC Volkswagen joint venture partners (SEAT, Volkswagen Group China and JAC). The Chinese delegation, led by Anhui province Governor Li Jinbin and Ling Yun, the Mayor of Hefei, the provincial capital where the JAC headquarters are located, was hosted by JAC Chairman An Jin, Volkswagen Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess, SEAT President Luca de Meo, and Volkswagen Group China CEO Dr. Stephan W?llenstein.
The JAC Volkswagen partners and the joint venture signed an agreement that enables further progress in the introduction of SEAT in China in two or three years. The agreement specifies the collaboration among the partners and the strategy towards the future of the joint venture. Furthermore, JAC Volkswagen will become a globally integrated member of the Volkswagen Group and play an active role in its manufacturing network.
The new R&D centre is the cornerstone to achieving the objective of developing mobility solutions and it will integrate, among others, capabilities to co-develop smaller e-cars and components and conduct research into technologies for automotive applications. Currently under construction, it is scheduled to open in 2021 and it will be based in Hefei.
On May 27th, 2019, under the witness of Anhui Province Governor Mr.Li Jinbin and CEO of Volkswagen Group Dr. Herbert Diess , JAC Chairman An Jin, Volkswagen Group China CEO Dr. Stephan W?llenstein and SEAT President Luca de Meo have signed the agreement.
Today, China is the benchmark country for electric vehicles. SEAT aims to aim to be a part of this ecosystem in order to exchange knowledge and make progress in achieving global mobility that is more sustainable. The signing of this agreement is a new step forward in the strategic plan for the globalization of SEAT
The representatives from Anhui also visited the SEAT Design Centre, a part of the Technical Centre. Following the visit to SEAT, the delegation toured the SEAT Metropolis:Lab, the carmaker’s innovation laboratory integrated in the Volkswagen Group’s digital labs network, as well as Pier01 (Barcelona Tech City), the heart of the city’s start-up ecosystem in Barcelona.
China, a key country in SEAT’s future strategy
Last July, SEAT, Volkswagen Group China and JAC signed an agreement in Berlin, in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, whereby SEAT became a partner in the joint JAC Volkswagen venture created for the manufacture and distribution of electric vehicles, and was designated the Volkswagen Group’s lead brand in this project. Since the founding of the joint venture in 2017, SEAT has been contributing its know-how in the areas of design and R&D.
SEAT’s participation in the joint venture was endorsed with the signing of a new agreement in November in Madrid, which specifies the development of a platform for the introduction of electric vehicles and the creation of a new R&D centre in the city of Hefei. The agreement was signed by Volkswagen Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess, JAC Chairman An Jin and SEAT President Luca de Meo, in the presence of the People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
SOURCE: JAC Motors
