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China-Volkswagen/Competition/Tariffs
Shanghai, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of sign, poster of Auto Shanghai 2025
2. Various of Volkswagen electric vehicle (EV) on display
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (partially overlaid with shots 4-6):
"Competition is good for developing innovations, and innovations are, at the end, very positive for the customers. We use the Chinese speed also to improve our processes, like the engineering speed. Our new platforms are developed in only two years with the typical Volkswagen DNA and a very high standard of the technological level we are providing to our customers. So, we are benefiting a lot what we can learn here in China and bring also the process knowledge and in the experience to other regions of the world."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of auto production line
5. Various of Volkswagen vehicle being assembled
FILE: Hefei City, Anhui Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Robotic arms working
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
Shanghai, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of exhibition booths, cars on display
FILE: Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, south China – Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of BYD electric vehicle demonstrating auto parking
FILE: Guangdong Province, south China - 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of brand new BYD EVs moving
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (starting with shot 9/partially overlaid with shots 11-12):
"Both of us [Volkswagen and BYD], we are deeply integrated in the value chain, in terms of engineering, in terms of software, in terms of battery technology. I feel very positive having competitors like BYD - it's challenging to make our business better and, at the end, it's very positive to have this for the customers to provide the best technologies."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Munich, Germany - Sept 6, 2023 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Logo of BYD
12. BYD car interior
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - 2023 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Logos of Volkswagen, XPeng
FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Interior of factory of XPeng
15. Various of fast motion of XPeng production line
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (partially overlaid with shots 17-18):
"First of all, we are focusing on China. And Xpeng is doing a great job, and I'm honoring what they are doing there. And therefore we have chosen this partnership. I'm very happy about it. Also the progress, the speed, the innovation level, we think step by step, first now bringing the first models to the market, also collaborating in terms of developing software architectures."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
17. Aerial shot of factory of Xpeng
18. Various of production line
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, east China - April 25, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Aerial shots of port, electric vehicles for export
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (starting with shot 19/partially overlaid with shots 21-23):
"The whole automotive market globally is under pressure. And we, as a real global player, are analyzing the situation very, very deeply. For us, and that was our acting also in the past, it was very important to have a free and fair trade between the regions, but the current regulations brought us to do more local business as we decided already in China, doing more business here in China for China. The same in the U.S., also we are intending to invest heavily in the U.S. So, we can't influence on the situation coming from the politics or geopolitics. So, we have to prepare ourselves being attractive and having the opportunity to offer the right products to our local customers."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Dalian City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - November 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
21. Aerial shots of Volkswagen Group Components (Dalian), sign
22. Robotic arms working, automobile parts
FILE: Hefei City, Anhui Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
23. Various of interior of Volkswagen Group's factory; robot arms working
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
Shanghai, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
24. Poster of Volkswagen's electric vehicle
25. Various of Volkswagen's electric vehicle on display
Volkswagen chief Oliver Blume emphasized the importance of healthy market competition, and said that the group wants to build its business in different parts of the globe to mitigate U.S. President Trump administration's sweeping tariffs.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the Auto Shanghai which opened on Wednesday, Blume, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG said that competition is a catalyst for innovation which better serves customers.
"Competition is good for developing innovations, and innovations are, at the end, very positive for the customers. We use the Chinese speed also to improve our processes, like the engineering speed. Our new platforms are developed in only two years with the typical Volkswagen DNA and a very high standard of the technological level we are providing to our customers. So, we are benefiting a lot what we can learn here in China and bring also the process knowledge and in the experience to other regions of the world," he said.
The German automobile giant has been one of the best-selling car brands in China over the past decades. In 2024, the automaker delivered over 2.9 million vehicles to the Chinese market, nearly one third of its global sales.
As China continues its green transition, the country's leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacture, BYD, has emerged as one of Volkswagen's strongest competitors in the Chinese market.
Blume said that the presence of competitors such as BYD is a significant factor that compels Volkswagen to improve its business operations and strategies.
"Both of us [Volkswagen and BYD], we are deeply integrated in the value chain, in terms of engineering, in terms of software, in terms of battery technology. I feel very positive having competitors like BYD - it's challenging to make our business better and, at the end, it's very positive to have this for the customers to provide the best technologies," he said.
Volkswagen is deepening its electrification strategy and launching more high-quality electric vehicle products in China, Blume said, noting that the group has expanded cooperation with Chinese companies in the world's largest and fastest-growing EV market.
At the beginning of this year, Volkswagen and Chinese EV startup XPeng announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for strategic collaboration on a super-fast charging network in China. The strategic collaboration represents another step in their long-term strategic partnership, following Volkswagen's acquisition of a 4.99 percent stake in XPeng for approximately 700 million U.S. dollars in 2023.
Blume said the partnership with XPeng could create opportunities for Volkswagen to tap into other regional markets, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
"First of all, we are focusing on China. And Xpeng is doing a great job, and I'm honoring what they are doing there. And therefore we have chosen this partnership. I'm very happy about it. Also the progress, the speed, the innovation level, we think step by step, first now bringing the first models to the market, also collaborating in terms of developing software architectures," he said.
Blume reaffirmed Volkswagen's advocacy for free trade in the face of the Trump administration's tariffs, adding that the company will continue to localize in the Chinese and American markets and strengthen the alignment of its products with the needs of customers in different regions.
"The whole automotive market globally is under pressure. And we, as a real global player, are analyzing the situation very, very deeply. For us, and that was our acting also in the past, it was very important to have a free and fair trade between the regions, but the current regulations brought us to do more local business as we decided already in China, doing more business here in China for China. The same in the U.S., also we are intending to invest heavily in the U.S. So, we can't influence on the situation coming from the politics or geopolitics. So, we have to prepare ourselves being attractive and having the opportunity to offer the right products to our local customers," he said.
China-Volkswagen/Competition/Tariffs
Dateline : April 23, 2025/Recent/File
Location : China
Duration : 3'10
Shanghai, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of sign, poster of Auto Shanghai 2025
2. Various of Volkswagen electric vehicle (EV) on display
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (partially overlaid with shots 4-6):
"Competition is good for developing innovations, and innovations are, at the end, very positive for the customers. We use the Chinese speed also to improve our processes, like the engineering speed. Our new platforms are developed in only two years with the typical Volkswagen DNA and a very high standard of the technological level we are providing to our customers. So, we are benefiting a lot what we can learn here in China and bring also the process knowledge and in the experience to other regions of the world."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of auto production line
5. Various of Volkswagen vehicle being assembled
FILE: Hefei City, Anhui Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Robotic arms working
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
Shanghai, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of exhibition booths, cars on display
FILE: Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, south China – Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of BYD electric vehicle demonstrating auto parking
FILE: Guangdong Province, south China - 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of brand new BYD EVs moving
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (starting with shot 9/partially overlaid with shots 11-12):
"Both of us [Volkswagen and BYD], we are deeply integrated in the value chain, in terms of engineering, in terms of software, in terms of battery technology. I feel very positive having competitors like BYD - it's challenging to make our business better and, at the end, it's very positive to have this for the customers to provide the best technologies."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Munich, Germany - Sept 6, 2023 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Logo of BYD
12. BYD car interior
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - 2023 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Logos of Volkswagen, XPeng
FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Interior of factory of XPeng
15. Various of fast motion of XPeng production line
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (partially overlaid with shots 17-18):
"First of all, we are focusing on China. And Xpeng is doing a great job, and I'm honoring what they are doing there. And therefore we have chosen this partnership. I'm very happy about it. Also the progress, the speed, the innovation level, we think step by step, first now bringing the first models to the market, also collaborating in terms of developing software architectures."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
17. Aerial shot of factory of Xpeng
18. Various of production line
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, east China - April 25, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Aerial shots of port, electric vehicles for export
Shanghai, China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Blume, chairman, Board of Management, Volkswagen AG (starting with shot 19/partially overlaid with shots 21-23):
"The whole automotive market globally is under pressure. And we, as a real global player, are analyzing the situation very, very deeply. For us, and that was our acting also in the past, it was very important to have a free and fair trade between the regions, but the current regulations brought us to do more local business as we decided already in China, doing more business here in China for China. The same in the U.S., also we are intending to invest heavily in the U.S. So, we can't influence on the situation coming from the politics or geopolitics. So, we have to prepare ourselves being attractive and having the opportunity to offer the right products to our local customers."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Dalian City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - November 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
21. Aerial shots of Volkswagen Group Components (Dalian), sign
22. Robotic arms working, automobile parts
FILE: Hefei City, Anhui Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
23. Various of interior of Volkswagen Group's factory; robot arms working
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
Shanghai, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
24. Poster of Volkswagen's electric vehicle
25. Various of Volkswagen's electric vehicle on display
Volkswagen chief Oliver Blume emphasized the importance of healthy market competition, and said that the group wants to build its business in different parts of the globe to mitigate U.S. President Trump administration's sweeping tariffs.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the Auto Shanghai which opened on Wednesday, Blume, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG said that competition is a catalyst for innovation which better serves customers.
"Competition is good for developing innovations, and innovations are, at the end, very positive for the customers. We use the Chinese speed also to improve our processes, like the engineering speed. Our new platforms are developed in only two years with the typical Volkswagen DNA and a very high standard of the technological level we are providing to our customers. So, we are benefiting a lot what we can learn here in China and bring also the process knowledge and in the experience to other regions of the world," he said.
The German automobile giant has been one of the best-selling car brands in China over the past decades. In 2024, the automaker delivered over 2.9 million vehicles to the Chinese market, nearly one third of its global sales.
As China continues its green transition, the country's leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacture, BYD, has emerged as one of Volkswagen's strongest competitors in the Chinese market.
Blume said that the presence of competitors such as BYD is a significant factor that compels Volkswagen to improve its business operations and strategies.
"Both of us [Volkswagen and BYD], we are deeply integrated in the value chain, in terms of engineering, in terms of software, in terms of battery technology. I feel very positive having competitors like BYD - it's challenging to make our business better and, at the end, it's very positive to have this for the customers to provide the best technologies," he said.
Volkswagen is deepening its electrification strategy and launching more high-quality electric vehicle products in China, Blume said, noting that the group has expanded cooperation with Chinese companies in the world's largest and fastest-growing EV market.
At the beginning of this year, Volkswagen and Chinese EV startup XPeng announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for strategic collaboration on a super-fast charging network in China. The strategic collaboration represents another step in their long-term strategic partnership, following Volkswagen's acquisition of a 4.99 percent stake in XPeng for approximately 700 million U.S. dollars in 2023.
Blume said the partnership with XPeng could create opportunities for Volkswagen to tap into other regional markets, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
"First of all, we are focusing on China. And Xpeng is doing a great job, and I'm honoring what they are doing there. And therefore we have chosen this partnership. I'm very happy about it. Also the progress, the speed, the innovation level, we think step by step, first now bringing the first models to the market, also collaborating in terms of developing software architectures," he said.
Blume reaffirmed Volkswagen's advocacy for free trade in the face of the Trump administration's tariffs, adding that the company will continue to localize in the Chinese and American markets and strengthen the alignment of its products with the needs of customers in different regions.
"The whole automotive market globally is under pressure. And we, as a real global player, are analyzing the situation very, very deeply. For us, and that was our acting also in the past, it was very important to have a free and fair trade between the regions, but the current regulations brought us to do more local business as we decided already in China, doing more business here in China for China. The same in the U.S., also we are intending to invest heavily in the U.S. So, we can't influence on the situation coming from the politics or geopolitics. So, we have to prepare ourselves being attractive and having the opportunity to offer the right products to our local customers," he said.
ID : 8425257
Published : 2025-04-24 02:37
Last Modified : 2025-04-26 09:31:44
Source : China Central Television (CCTV),China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
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