Volkswagen Doubles Down on ChinaS EV Market

While Chinese electric car companies try to escape the intense competition of their domestic market and expand internationally to areas with higher margins,volkswagen is moving in the opposite direction,and against the current. Instead of competing with BYD and others in Europe or the United States, the German company continues to bet on the People’s Republic of China. It’s doing so with a risky idea: that a segment of consumers will continue to pay a premium price for a European brand within the world’s most ruthless market, and now, a especially sophisticated one for electric vehicles.

Volkswagen’s move feels like an all-in: becoming Chinese to survive in China. This is ironic for a company that entered the market before most others, starting with its joint venture with SAIC in the 1980s. With the electrification of the Chinese market, the situation has changed dramatically.