XPeng Motors and Volkswagen Group Sign Expanded Strategic Cooperation Agreement on E/E Architecture Technology

On August 15, XPeng Motors and Volkswagen Group jointly announced that following the signing of the Strategic Cooperation Agreement on the Joint Development of Electronic and Electrical Architecture Technology (“Joint Development Agreement”) on July 22, 2024, their jointly developed industry-leading electronic and electrical architecture is accelerating development at “China speed” and has achieved key project milestones. Based on their consensus to expand the application scope of the electronic and electrical architecture and Volkswagen Group’s commitment to achieving a cross-platform, multi-energy electronic and electrical architecture platform, both parties have signed an agreement to expand their strategic cooperation on electronic and electrical architecture technology (“Expanded Cooperation Agreement”).

The signing of the expanded cooperation agreement marks that the industry-leading electronic and electrical architecture jointly developed by both parties will not only be integrated into Volkswagen’s pure electric vehicle platforms in the Chinese market, but will also be deployed on Volkswagen’s fuel and plug-in hybrid vehicle platforms in China. The technical strategic cooperation between the two parties will expand to broader markets.

Image source: XPeng Motors

At the same time, this will accelerate the realization of Volkswagen Group’s software-defined vehicle strategy and strengthen the global competitiveness of Volkswagen Group models. By platformizing the electronic and electrical architecture, rapid software iteration and over-the-air upgrades can be achieved, significantly shortening the development cycle of new models.

The R&D teams of both parties adhered to an ultimate platform-based design philosophy, designing and validating a platform-based technical solution in which the electronic and electrical architecture developed for pure electric vehicle platforms can also be deployed on fuel and plug-in hybrid vehicle platforms. This is an important achievement of joint R&D and technological innovation between the two parties, and also demonstrates the advantages and strategic value of their long-term strategic cooperation. This will significantly expand the number and scale of vehicles equipped with this advanced electronic and electrical architecture in the Chinese market, enabling Volkswagen Group to achieve significant platform-based economies of scale and product competitiveness.

Ralf Brandstätter, the management board member responsible for Volkswagen Group's China operations and Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, emphasized that the application of advanced technological achievements should not be limited to a single form of power. The brands under the Volkswagen Group are always committed to providing the most advanced solutions for customers in various market segments.CEA ArchitectureExtending to the Group’s robust internal combustion engine vehicle portfolio, the Group will further consolidate its technological leadership in the traditional powertrain vehicle market. Meanwhile, in the fiercely competitive Chinese automotive market, we continuously optimize our cost structure to ensure that we always offer highly attractive vehicle choices to our customers. This will create greater strategic depth for us, providing more room for targeted investments in cutting-edge innovation and empowering us to accelerate towards a fully connected, intelligent, and electric future.