Volkswagen Group’s first 100% owned battery system plant in China starts production of its first high-voltage battery system. VWAC produces high-voltage battery systems for Volkswagen Anhui’s all-electric vehicles based on the Group’s Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB platform). Volkswagen Group China has invested over EUR 140 million in the new plant and its facilities.
The battery system for MEB vehicles consists of several cell modules, a cell management controller, a battery management system, and a connector strip, which are interconnected via high-voltage connectors and are protected in an aluminum battery housing. In terms of the manufacturing process, there are two production steps each with two production lines – one for frame production and one for system assembly. 96% of the components required for battery production are supplied locally.
VWAC has an annual production capacity of 150,000 to 180,000 high-voltage battery systems and has 100+ employees. The new plant has leveraged existing synergies with the Group’s wholly owned battery plants and workshops in Braunschweig (Germany) and Tianjin (China), as well as enhanced ties and synergies with the MEB battery plants of Volkswagen Group’s Chinese Joint Ventures. VWAC has digitized the manufacturing process, production, assembly, and testing of battery systems that utilize cutting-edge technology and involve a high level of automation at each stage. The quality lab of VWAC has a water-cutting machine, laser radar, and 3D coordinate measuring machine (CMM) equipment, all of which improve the efficiency of product analysis. Prototype production of VWAC was started at the Group’s Tianjin plant.
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VWAC is designed to work on the ‘GoToZero’ emission vision of the VW Group. It is using geothermal heat pump system that is able to save 900 MWh of energy per year.
In the inaugural event, Olaf Korzinovski, executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China, said VWAC is the powerhouse of battery production and essential to the company’s future development. Volkswagen has been lagging behind the fierce EV competition in China as local companies like BYD rise. The start of this plant will help Volkswagen to boost its market in China.