FAW-Volkswagen and Volkswagen Group signed a memorandum of understanding on imported vehicles and components during the ninth China International Import Expo in Shanghai, under which FAW-Volkswagen will import selected components and Audi vehicles from Volkswagen Group starting in 2027.
The move broadens the product supply available to the venture in China and continues a cooperation format the two sides have used at earlier editions of the expo, covering imported components, Audi vehicles and coordination across supply chains, product development, market expansion and export.
Thirty-five years, three brands
FAW-Volkswagen was founded in 1991 and now operates Volkswagen, Audi and Jetta brands across combustion and new energy vehicles. In 2025 the venture passed 30 million cumulative vehicles produced and sold.
Its localisation work has continued through 2026. In January, FAW-Volkswagen Jetta Automotive Technology was launched in Chengdu, converting Jetta from a product badge into a company covering research, production, supply and sales.
On product, the new model plan agreed between the German and Chinese sides is moving into execution. The ID. AURA T6 launched in September and the Jetta M6 followed in October, widening the new energy line-up.
Importing in, exporting out
The venture is also building overseas marketing and service capability to take Chinese-built joint venture vehicles into export markets. The result is a two-way structure: imported Audi vehicles and components on one side, Chinese-built exports on the other.
That combination has become the standard shape of the German-Chinese joint venture in this cycle. Local plants carry the volume segments where cost competitiveness decides the outcome. Imports carry the models where volume is thin and the brand premium does the work. And the same venture is asked to find growth outside China because the domestic market no longer delivers it automatically.
For European suppliers and logistics operators, the practical consequence is a shift in flows. More complete vehicles and knock-down parts moving into China, more finished vehicles moving out, and a joint venture that behaves like a trading house as well as a manufacturer.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://auto.gasgoo.com/news/202611/6I70477141C109.shtml.