MIIT's 401st Batch of New Cars: "Golden Badge Volkswagen" Fighting to the Death

As 2025 approaches its end, and with the Guangzhou Auto Show just around the corner, the Chinese car market should be bustling as usual. After nearly a year of price wars and media battles, who will let down their guard in this final sprint and wait calmly for the bell to toll at the end of the year?

Based on the information currently available, it can be concluded that BYD and Geely are firmly holding the titles of the top two in cumulative sales. Similarly, Chery and SAIC have an industry position in export business that is difficult for others to reach at the moment. In the joint venture camp, given the efforts made throughout the year in electrification transformation that have won public favor, GAC Toyota, Dongfeng Nissan, and SAIC General are likely to be the typical representatives of upward development in the entire joint venture sector.

However, those familiar with the Chinese car market know that this seemingly stabilized market structure is bound to have undercurrents surging beneath the surface, as the intensity of competition has not diminished.

Yesterday, the 401st batch of new car directory from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was unveiled. Compared to the previous batches, the level of excitement for the new cars has indeed decreased. However, one point is still noteworthy: before the market trends and consumer tendencies for next year become completely clear, the new cars appearing at this moment hold certain indicative significance for car manufacturers.

Barring any unexpected events, after experiencing the market trials of 2025, next year is sure to be a year where leading automotive companies or mainstream brands can truly face off against each other without distractions.

The new forces are now down to "NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, and Zeekr," and in traditional car companies, those that should have been eliminated have been cleared out by the market. Technologically, when the narrative surrounding intelligent driving is tightly controlled by the state, technical innovations focused on pragmatism naturally put companies back on the same starting line. These signs, evident now, make it clear to anyone that the Chinese car market seems to have emerged from chaos. In reality, all Chinese auto industry players are about to face a new battle. Volkswagen Anhui cannot wait any longer.

In this instance, in the new car catalog from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it appears that new products such as Yueyi 08, Xingtu ET7, and Wuling Rongguang V will represent the next stage of development for their respective brands. However, in the eyes of the public, none of these cars can compare to the significance of the appearance of Yuzhong 08. Yes, that's right. It's the Yuzhong 08, the new energy SUV produced by Volkswagen Anhui.

This year, we have often mentioned that the "awakening of joint ventures" is a symbolic event in the evolution of the automotive market. As a large number of weak joint venture companies are forced to cease operations, there are now very few competitors left for Chinese car manufacturers. This means that, facing the fierce competition from Chinese brands, any foreign car company still willing to stay in China will find 2025 to be a crucial year to test its strength.

Since the beginning of the year, we have seen how aggressive joint venture car companies, led by GAC Toyota, are in their approach to electrification.

Apart from Toyota's stringent supplier selection criteria, GAC Toyota can implement products according to Chinese preferences as much as possible. From the Bozhi 3X to the N7, while people are marveling at how drastically GAC Toyota has changed, Dongfeng Nissan has also unreservedly introduced its purely electric new car with a strong Chinese flavor into the market.

Since this stage, the Chang'an Mazda EZ-60 has arrived, following in the footsteps of the EZ-6. SAIC-GM, under the name Zhijing L7, has revived the extended-range powertrain that General Motors had long shelved, while also completing its rebirth in a way that aligns with the product logic most suited to Chinese users.

For the general public, seeing competitors frequently making moves, they naturally won't sit idle. As early as April this year at the Shanghai Auto Show, after testing the waters in China's new energy market with the ID.3/4/6, Volkswagen attempted to launch a new round of product offensive with the global debut of three electrified concept cars: FAW-Volkswagen ID. AURA, SAIC Volkswagen ID. ERA, and Volkswagen Anhui ID. EVO.

At that time, Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said, "As demonstrated by the three new concept cars, our 'In China, For China' strategy is yielding positive results. They will further strengthen our position as a leading international automotive brand in the Chinese market."

Stefan Mecha, the then CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars in China, also responded actively, stating, "We are shaping the future with highly competitive models. While bringing forward-looking designs and high-end technology to the mainstream market, Volkswagen always adheres to the safety and high-quality standards that the brand represents."

All of this sends an unmistakable signal to both SAIC Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen: go all out in China's new energy vehicle market. But from the standpoint of Volkswagen Anhui, being the newest member of Volkswagen's joint ventures in China, the pressure it faces is self-evident.

From ID. to "Yuzhong 06", and then Yuzhong 07 and Yuzhong 08 being listed in the 400th and 401st batch of new car announcements by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the pace of Volkswagen Anhui's product scheduling is getting faster and faster. However, just like the trend shown by the entire market this year, "the comprehensive awakening of joint ventures becoming the norm" poses a significant threat to any similar enterprise. Additionally, with Yuzhong 06 nowhere to be found on many sales charts, do you think Volkswagen Anhui is feeling anxious?

In just a few days, the Guangzhou Auto Show is set to commence as a stage to preview the car market of 2026. Regardless of whether Volkswagen Anhui will present its new lineup at the event, from this moment on, as the leading foreign-invested company, Volkswagen needs to align its product advancement in joint ventures with all its competitors.

Yuzhong 08 is not meant to enrich the product line.

On August 15, 2025, an ordinary day, but for Volkswagen, it once again became a day that determined the direction of its destiny. On this day, Volkswagen Group and XPeng Motors jointly announced that they will sign an agreement to expand their strategic cooperation in electronic and electrical architecture technology. The advanced electronic and electrical architecture jointly developed by both parties will be applied not only to pure electric vehicle models but also to platforms for gasoline and plug-in hybrid vehicle models.

Since Volkswagen's stake in Xiaopeng in July 2023, although not much time has passed, both parties have made significant progress, from the jointly developed industry-leading electronic and electrical architecture to today. It can be said that Volkswagen is not lagging behind Toyota, GM, and others in advancing its localization strategy in China.

According to the latest joint development agreement, regardless of when the two parties' research and development of the electronic and electrical architecture will be integrated into the fuel and plug-in hybrid vehicle platforms, the practical aspect is that Volkswagen's future products will incorporate Chinese elements as much as possible.

Previously, regarding the Yuzon 06, we were well aware that this is another pure electric SUV launched by Volkswagen Anhui on the Volkswagen MEB pure electric platform. It is essentially a sister model to the ID.5 sold overseas, a rebadged version of the SEAT Cupra Tavascan. Naturally, this pure electric SUV with a strong European flavor has encountered acclimatization issues in China.

Today, as the all-new Zhizhong 08, derived from the ID. EVO concept car, officially debuts, the newly appointed CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars China, Robert Cisek, eagerly shared official images of the Zhizhong 08 on his social media platform. It is clear to everyone that, unlike the ID. series, Volkswagen's most localized new energy product has finally arrived.

You could say that this new car seems to have the shadow of a Xiaopeng model, but for most Chinese users, this might just be the new car they are looking for.

According to available information, the car is expected to start production at Volkswagen's (Anhui) factory in 2026. It will feature L2++ level assisted driving, support OTA upgrades for the entire vehicle, and be equipped with 800V ultra-fast charging, with a CLTC range of over 700 kilometers. In terms of power, data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology indicates that it will be equipped with a single motor with a rated power of 110kW and a peak power of 230kW, paired with the more widely accepted CATL lithium iron phosphate battery.

In this era, what are the criteria for an excellent new energy SUV?

Looking at Chinese car companies continuously intensifying technological competition, it's difficult to provide a specific answer. However, for joint venture car companies, any new model that claims to be specifically designed for the Chinese market is inevitably linked to the involvement of Chinese enterprises. Companies like Momenta and Baidu, or automakers such as GAC, Dongfeng, and XPeng, can empower products, and I believe that "cooperative R&D" is the best path for joint ventures to promote new energy vehicles.

As we enter 2026, I believe that Volkswagen will undoubtedly become more localized in its electric transformation journey, much like Toyota and General Motors, and Volkswagen Anhui's reliance on the Yuzhong 08 will become the key to entering the competitive core of the joint venture new energy market. It is foreseeable that when similar products like the Nissan N8 converge with it, the Chinese heritage embodied in the Yuzhong 08 will certainly exert its influence. Especially when the Yuzhong 07 cannot bear too much of the sales mission of Volkswagen Anhui, the battle with Yuzhong 08 must be won.