Determined to reclaim its dominance in the highly lucrative car market of China, German multinational automaker Volkswagen Group unveiled nearly four dozen vehicles at the Beijing Auto Show, with half of them proudly sporting the EV badge. Every ambitious auto brand is interested in China as the Asian powerhouse is the world's largest EV market, accounting for roughly 55 per cent of the world’s total EV sales. Moreover, the Chinese market continues to expand by leaps and bounds. It is for this very reason that American, European and other Asian automobile manufacturers have set their eyes on China. The Volkswagen Group is making an attempt to regain market share in China by launching an all-out offense, starting with the Beijing Auto Show.

The German automobile brand has brought a total of 44 vehicles to Beijing Auto Show in China, and half of them are battery-powered vehicles. Previously, before being dethroned by BYD, the German automaker held the crown as China's top car brand for a whopping fifteen years. In fact, Volkswagen has an impressively long history in China, dating back to the vibrant landscape of 1980s. However, Chinese manufacturers’ recent rise snatched much of the German automaker’s market share, even in a number of foreign markets. In recent years, Chinese manufacturers captured more than 50 per cent of the market share.

During 2020, Volkswagen Group held 19.3 per cent of the market, but that number steeply slipped to 14.5 per cent last year as sales of internal combustion engine-powered vehicles became less popular in China. This, as per some reports, happened because Chinese automakers better know what Chinese consumers want in their new vehicles.

At the Beijing Auto Show, Volkswagen is showing the ID.Code concept, offering a glimpse into its upcoming, China-specific battery-powered lineup ID.UX. Other notable product being shown is the Audi Q6L e-tron, the first production model based on the brand’s PPE electric platform. The ID.UX lineup will offer progressive, lifestyle-oriented, and driver-centric vehicles.

Eager to reclaim its dominance, Volkswagen has set an ambitious target to capture 15 per cent share of the Chinese car market by the end of the current decade, which translates into a sales target of 4 million cars per annum. The automobile giant is thus planning to introduce a lineup of budget-friendly EVs as do so will not only enable it to meet but also surpass its ambitious target.