It is my pleasure and great honor to send you my regards and to speak to you on the occasion of the China Development Forum 2019.
For more than three decades Volkswagen Group heavily engages in building up the automotive industry here.
Today our Chinese operations are the most successful worldwide: with benchmark productivity and quality and the best product launches worldwide.
Our Chinese operations are the most profitable ones in the Group.
Ladies and gentlemen. Our endeavor in China took entrepreneurial spirit and a good deal of courage.
This courage has more than paid off.
Such a pioneer spirit now more than ever is in demand,as we are facing the biggest transformation our industry has ever seen.
The game changers are electrification, digitalization, connectivity and the move towards autonomous driving.
The superior expertise in these technologies make China the new global automotive powerhouse.
Beyond, China has expressed a dedicated automotive strategy.
The government has been setting the target for 2025. Until then, China will have reached a leading position with fully connected and autonomous driving cars.
I am convinced China will reach this target, because of its determination and the skills and diligence of its people. That is why we are setting up a new strategy to keep delivering.
We are determined to develop significant automotive technologies and mobility concepts here in China - together with FAW, SAIC and JAC and with new strong partners from the Chinese tech industry.
On top of this around half of our 20,000 R&D experts worldwide are dedicated to the development of technologies, products and car-designs for China.
We will invest more than 4 billion euros in innovative technologies, e-mobility and new products this year.
In the next two years alone, we plan to introduce more than 30 new NEV models in China.
In 2020, local production on our modular electric drive platform called MEB will start. This paves the way to the production of electric vehicles at highvolume here in China.
You can clearly see: We are ready to make our contributions.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are speeding up because we are confident in China’s future development and welcome any further opening-up for its economy towards free trade and globalization.
That will not only benefit Chinese customers, it will also build a stronger auto industry in China.
Looking back on the great history of the China Development Forum, it has always been an important source of exchange.
I look forward to the CDF and to further witnessing China’s automotive success story.