Claim: VW ramps up China electric car factories, taking aim at Tesla.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Automotive industry in China
text: to an estimate by the Japanese Mizuho Bank. The country has a significant benefit over others. Some two-thirds of the world's lithium-ion batteries are made in China and the country's EV manufacturing facilities are close to the source these components. In October 2018, Tesla purchased land for the construction of an EV manufacturing plant in Shanghai's Lingang area. By then, VW had already begun construction of its EV factory, with a planned annual capacity of 300,000 SAIC-VW MEB-platform vehicles, starting with three battery-electric vehicles and two plug-in hybrids. Toyota Motor had already launched sales of an EV branded under Guangzhou

title: History of Tesla, Inc.
text: 276 mpg. Tesla makes its cars at the Tesla Factory in California. In October 2015, Tesla Motor announced the company was negotiating with the Chinese government on producing cars domestically. Local production has the potential to reduce the sales prices of Tesla models by a third. However, foreign automakers are generally required to establish a joint venture with a Chinese company to produce cars domestically. Elon Musk clarified that production will remain in the U.S. in the foreseeable future, but if there's sufficient local demand for the Tesla Model 3 in China, a factory could be built in the country

title: New energy vehicles in China
text: have no less than 10% of parking spaces with charging facilities. According to the guideline, there should be at least one public charging station for every 2,000 NEVs. Also the State Council ordered local governments not to restrict the sales or use of new energy cars. In October 2015, Tesla Motor announced the company is negotiating with the Chinese government on producing its electric cars domestically. Local production has the potential to reduce the sales prices of Tesla models by a third, and so improving the weak sales of the Model S. A Model S starts at about in the

title: Volkswagen Group China
text: venture since China began its reform, and debut to the outside world, and is located in Anting International Auto City on the northwest outskirts of Shanghai. Producing cars under the Volkswagen and the Škoda brands, SVW currently offers a total of twelve model series. By October 2009, SVW had turned out over five million cars in total, becoming the carmaker that has the biggest population of cars in China. In April 2005, Škoda officially landed at Shanghai Volkswagen, ushering Shanghai Volkswagen into the dual brand era. In September 2006, Shanghai Volkswagen Škoda – the first Chinese manufactured Škoda - was

title: Volkswagen Group China
text: Group, via its Volkswagen Group China division, has 16 subsidiaries in China, with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), and First Automobile Works (FAW) being the two major Chinese partner companies. In 1984, a joint venture (JV) was established between Volkswagen Group and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (now SAIC Motor), creating Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. (SVW). With its headquarters in Shanghai, equity holdings are split (as of 2010) - Volkswagen AG (40%), Volkswagen (China) Invest (10%), SAIC (50%). This a fixed term venture, of 45 years, running until 2030. Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. (SVW) is the first car-making joint

title: FAW-Volkswagen
text: car plant #2. By 2010 FAW-VW had sold over 1,000,000 Audis (including imported cars) in China. With the celebration, a sculpture named 'Ode to Audi' from Gerry Judah was set at the entrance of the company. According to Chinese government policy, foreign auto manufactures should develop domestic brands with their local partners. Thus FAW-VW revealed its own brand 'Kaili (开利)' in May 2011. On August 15, 2011, FAW-VW celebrated its twentieth anniversary with its one millionth car in 2011 (a Magotan B7L). November 2016: Changchun FAW-VW agency workers organize and file a report on unfair labor conditions to the All-China

title: Gigafactory 3
text: Gigafactory 3 Tesla Gigafactory 3 () is a Tesla, Inc. factory currently under construction in Shanghai, China. The facility will produce battery cells along with Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y cars, at an initial production rate target of 250,000 electric cars per year. The Shanghai regional government approved the agreement to build the production facility in July 2018, and a long-term lease was signed for of land in October 2018. Construction began in December 2018 with the installation of secure fencing and site offices. The factory site is within Pudong District, with the western edge bordering Fengxian District.

title: Gigafactory 3
text: 2018, construction activity at the site was underway with site grading. Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong visited the site on 5 December. A subsidiary of China Minmetals was making preparation for piling foundations. Shanghai Construction Group was one of the companies bidding for part of the larger construction contract. Gigafactory 3 Tesla Gigafactory 3 () is a Tesla, Inc. factory currently under construction in Shanghai, China. The facility will produce battery cells along with Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y cars, at an initial production rate target of 250,000 electric cars per year. The Shanghai regional government approved the agreement

title: Volkswagen Group MEB platform
text: from combustion engine to battery electric vehicles with all 300 models across 12 brands having an electric version by 2030. As of May 2018, the VW Group has committed $48 billion in car battery supplies and plans to outfit 16 factories to build electric cars by the end of 2022. The upcoming Volkswagen-branded production cars will be assembled in VW's Zwickau plant in Germany for the European market from 2020, while two production centers in North America and China are planned to be "launched at almost the same time". The Škoda-branded SUV Vision E is to be produced in the

title: Future Mobility Corporation
text: a range of international companies, including senior staff from the BMW i programme and Tesla. It is a subsidiary of China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding Limited. In January 2017, the company announced its first manufacturing facility would be located in Nanjing, China at a cost of US$1.7 billion and an initial production capacity of 150,000 cars. In 2018, Chinese state owned First Auto Works invested a “significant amount of money” into the EV startup Byton. The company announced its ambition to launch three electric car models by 2022. The first announced is the mid-sized Byton crossover, but only in

title: Charged Hong Kong
text: young Hong Kong entrepreneur, reviewed in an interview that he had a meeting with both Leung Chun Ying, the current Chief Executive of Hong Kong and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk in the same week and had talked about electric vehicles in Hong Kong. On 28 October 2016, Charged Hong Kong committee member Kristy Lau was in the FIA Formula E Live video, discussing electric vehicles in Hong Kong and her experience driving her Tesla Model S in the "Beacon City of EV", rounding up of this year's FIA Formula E event in Hong Kong. On 3 November 2016, Tesla

title: Automotive industry in China
text: with FAW-Volkswagen's Audi division said that two million China-made Audi cars will be sold in the country by 2020. As of the end of 2017, the total to date was 777,000. The joint venture SAIC Volkswagen was also in the process of building an electric-car plant in Anting, near Shanghai by late 2018; it was expected to make 300,000 e-vehicles per year, starting in 2020. BMW and Chinese partner Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings expected to make 520,000 cars in China during 2019. In October 2018, the German company announced that it will spend €3.6bn ($4.16 billion) to increase ownership of

title: Tesla, Inc.
text: Dutch -issued Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) should be accepted as a legal compliance document, with no need to seek specific national type of approvals in EU member states. In 2016 BYD Auto was the world's top selling plug-in car manufacturer with 101,183 units sold, followed by Tesla with 76,243. However, Tesla revenues ranked ahead with , while BYD notched . Also in 2016, Tesla sold US$1 billion worth of cars in China, the world's largest market for electric vehicles, and in October of the following year it reached an agreement with the Chinese government to build a factory in

title: BAIC Group
text: and planned to purchase fellow Chinese automaker Guangzhou Baolong () for this purpose gaining a Southern production base and planning construction of two more. A trial production run of 30 electric vehicles using Saab and self-developed platforms occurred in late 2010. China subsidies oil (an incentive for the State to encourage use and manufacture of electric cars), and Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric vehicles because Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology. The all-electric BAIC EC-Series city car was the top selling plug-in car in China in 2017 with 78,079 units

title: New energy vehicles in China
text: become the world's all-time second largest plug-in electric passenger car manufacturer with more than 171,000 units delivered in China since 2008. BYD Auto was the world's top selling plug-in car manufacturer for a second year in a row with more than 100,000 units delivered in China in 2016, up 64% from 2015, and ahead of Tesla by about 30,000 units. However, in terms of sales revenue, Tesla ranked ahead with from its electric car sales in 2016, while BYD sales totaled from its electric car division. Cumulative sales of domestically built new energy vehicles in China totaled 951,447 units between

title: Automotive industry in China
text: that Nissan and Dongfeng Group planned to invest roughly $900 million to eventually increase the production of Nissan vehicles in China to as many as 2.1 million per year. By September 1, 2018, Nissan’s first electric sedan for the Chinese market, the Sylphy Zero Emission, was in production. The numerous VW and Audi cars manufactured in China are made under two joint-venture partnerships: FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen. In 2018, the alliance opened three new FAW-Volkswagen plants in China: in Qingdao, Foshan and Tianjin. By 2019, the Audi expected to be making seven new SUV vehicle models in China. An executive

title: Daimler AG
text: engines) and a re-badged Renault Kangoo being sold as a Mercedes-Benz Citan. Daimler AG and the utility company RWE AG were set in 2009 to begin a joint electric car and charging station test project in the German capital, Berlin, called "E-Mobility Berlin". Following trials in 2007 and then with Tesla in 2009, Daimler is building a production Smart electric drive car using Tesla's battery technology. Daimler temporarily invested in Tesla, saving it from bankruptcy. Daimler's joint venture with BYD has resulted in the creation of the new brand Denza. In 2016, Daimler subsidiary ACCUMOTIVE announced their stationary batteries, to

title: SAIC Volkswagen
text: the process of building an electric-car plant in Anting, near Shanghai by late 2018; it was expected to make 300,000 e-vehicles per year, starting in 2020. SAIC Volkswagen SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd., formerly known as Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. or Shanghai Volkswagen, is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Anting, China and a joint venture between Volkswagen Group and SAIC Motor. It was founded in 1984 and produces cars under the Volkswagen and Škoda marques. The joint venture is made up of equity from (as of 2008) - Volkswagen AG (40%), Volkswagen (China) Invest (10%), SAIC (50%), with

title: New energy vehicles in China
text: of new car sales in 2016. Sales of BMW plug-in hybrid and i3 electric cars in China totaled 1,796 units during the first nine months of 2016. Tesla Inc. sales totaled 10,399 vehicles in 2016, consisting of 6,334 Model S cars and 4,065 Model X SUVs. In November 2016, with cumulative sales of about 600,000 plug-in electric passenger cars, China had overtook both Europe and the U.S., and became the market with the world's largest stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles. Three BYD Auto models topped the Chinese ranking of best-selling new energy passenger cars in 2016. The BYD Tang plug-in

title: Automotive industry in China
text: new Mercedes-Benz A-Class L sedan for China, in five variants, to "rival the China-made Audi A3 sedan and the BMW Series 1 sedan". Daimler and another partner, BYD Auto (backed by Warren Buffett), were already manufacturing an electric car for the Chinese market, the Denza, with an improved Denza 500 announced in March 2018. Apparently, Daimler-Benz was also having discussions about making battery-powered Smart cars in China with BYD Auto, according to an August 2018 report; the company would not comment on this topic. At the time, the petrol-powered Smart car was being imported into China. Honda Motor Co has