Volswagen Group Furthers Cooperation with XPeng: CEA Architecture Empowers Fuel-Electric Vehicles, Smart Network Expansion
China Economic News Beijing August 15th (Reporter: Guo Tao) Today, Volkswagen Group China and XPeng Motors announced that their joint development of the regional control electronic electrical architecture CEA will expand its application scope. Starting from 2027, CEA architecture will extend its application from pure electric vehicles developed by local brands to fuel-electric and hybrid power vehicles produced in China.
According to the introduction, CEA is equipped with a powerful central computing platform, supporting higher-level and more reliable advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and its advanced intelligent cabin features a car-mounted AI intelligent assistant that can achieve rapid stable OTA. By reducing the number of existing electronic control units (ECUs), CEA can significantly simplify system complexity and effectively improve vehicle sustainability and long-term value.
"The application of advanced technology results should not be limited to a single power form, but through extending CEA architecture to the group's powerful fuel-electric product matrix, the group will further solidify its technical leadership position in the traditional powertrain vehicle market." said Ralf Brandstetter, the management board member responsible for China business and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China).
"At the same time, in the highly competitive Chinese automotive market, we continuously optimize our cost structure to ensure that we always provide extremely attractive vehicle options to our broad customers. This will create a stronger strategic depth for us and provide more space for targeted frontier innovation investments to help us accelerate towards a comprehensive interconnected intelligent electric future."
He Xiaoping, chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors, said: "This expanded cooperation agreement is another important milestone in our collaboration process since we signed the joint development agreement on July 22, 2024. This not only demonstrates the depth of trust between our two companies but also highlights our continued technical innovation and value creation in the core technology field of intelligent electric vehicles."
Currently, Volkswagen Group has developed a range of fuel-electric vehicles based on the MQB platform, equipped with advanced and reliable ADAS systems and intelligent cabin features, which have gained popularity among Chinese consumers and taken a leading position in niche markets. Data shows that in 2024, the Volkswagen brand delivered over 2 million vehicles to the China market, accounting for nearly 90% of all fuel-electric vehicles.
"By adopting standardized CEA architecture across our entire vehicle lineup, we will achieve double benefits: on the one hand, accelerate digital service landing and precision match customer needs through OTA upgrades; on the other hand, leverage the scale effect to further optimize cost structure and continuously improve market competitiveness." said Dr. Robert Cisek, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand China and executive vice president of Volkswagen Group (China).
Furthermore, this deepened cooperation with XPeng Motors marks another important milestone in Volkswagen's "in China for China" strategy. The group has always been committed to strengthening local R&D resources and technical capabilities and has established a new research and innovation center - Volkswagen Group (China) Technology Co., Ltd. (VCTC) in Hefei.
According to the plan, starting from 2026, Volkswagen Group's smart network expansion strategy in China will accelerate further. The first batch of vehicles developed by local teams independently for Chinese consumers has already made its debut at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show. By 2027, the group is expected to launch approximately 30 electric vehicle models in China; by 2030, the group's brands are expected to release approximately 30 pure electric vehicle models in the China market.