Volkswagen opens new vehicle facility in China
The Volkswagen Group has opened a new vehicle plant in China. Situated in Yizheng, the 1.3 million square metres facility houses an assembly unit, energy centre, technical testing, press, body and paint shops. The plant has an annual capacity of three lakh vehicles every year. Extensive use of geothermal energy has been done for cooling and heating of the factory halls. Volkswagen has also setup solar panels in the plant which will help the employees charge their e-bikes as also transfer trucks.
Production of the new Polo has already started here with Skoda models also expected to join the party at a later stage. This new plant which is about 300km to the north-west of Shanghai will create around 3,700 new jobs. Jochem Heizmann, head of China board of management for Volkswagen AG said," With a construction period of two years, we are even opening our new facility in Yizheng earlier than planned. This is one of the most environmentally compatible plants of the Volkswagen Group. With advanced technologies and new production processes, we intend to continue to play an instrumental role in the future of China as an automobile country."