CHINA - Volkswagen inaugurates new component facility in Northern China.

• Production of energy-efficient transmissions starts in Tianjin
• New gearbox generation in China
• DQ 380 satisfies demands for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies
• 107th Group plant meets highest quality and environmental standards

At its Tianjin components plant in North China, Volkswagen today started production of the latest generation of highly advanced dual-clutch gearboxes (DSG), celebrating a world premiere. Initially, the new Volkswagen plant will have an annual production capacity of 450,000 units, which will be increased to 1.2 million units by 2016. 

By 2019, 5,500 new jobs are to be created in the region. Volkswagen has invested about €265 million (RMB 2.2 billion) in the first stage of the plant. This investment will boost economic growth in Northern China.

Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for China as well as President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said: "Our investment in the new components plant at Tianjin shows that we are pioneers in reducing fuel consumption with our technologies. Today we are celebrating the start of production of a new gearbox generation which stands for fuel efficiency, quality, vehicle dynamics and comfort".

The new Tianjin plant will produce the modern DQ380 gearbox. In combination with the third generation of the new EA888 engine, which is produced at the engine plants in Changchun and Shanghai, Volkswagen will achieve a consumption reduction of 0.5l/ 100 Km and therefore a CO₂ reduction of 12g/km compared with the previous generation.

As soon as production at Tianjin is running at full capacity, Volkswagen will be able to provide over one million vehicles on China's roads with gearboxes optimized for fuel efficiency in combination with the advanced engines and thus make a significant additional contribution to the reduction of CO₂ emissions_.With about 5,500 new jobs, Volkswagen Automatic Transmission Tianjin is currently the largest investment project in the region. 

The new transmission production company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The dual-clutch gearboxes produced especially for the Chinese market will be used in several Group models in China in the future. The new generation of DSG gearboxes will help Volkswagen become the most sustainable automaker in China by 2018.

Throughout the world, Volkswagen represents environmentally compatible mobility and production as well as sustainable growth. This includes advanced production processes and the consistent reduction of energy consumption and emissions. For example, an advanced water treatment facility that reduces process wastewater by up to 95 percent and also recycles the water has been installed at Tianjin. Furthermore, the heat from spent air is transferred to fresh intake air, halving energy consumption. In addition to the use of natural daylight through light domes, LED lighting in the factory hall also almost halves power consumption for lighting.

Next year, the first Volkswagen Component Academy outside Germany is to be established in Tianjin. The objective of this academy will be to develop dual vocational training for up to 4 vocations based on the German model. 

Vocational school students will receive initial and further training from experts in the relevant fields. In this context, Volkswagen aims to enter into cooperation arrangements with local vocational schools. New talents are to be systematically fostered, laying the foundation for an innovative, sustainable automotive industry in North-East China. 

In the medium term, the Academy will make it possible to meet demand for employees with specialist technical qualifications. "It is of great importance to us that our workers are intensively trained and made aware of environmental issues", underlines Heizmann. "Only the great expertise and excellent qualifications of our workers make the success of our products possible".

A test and analysis centre for all DSG transmissions produced in China is also to be established at Tianjin from 2016 onwards. This will represent a further step in know-how development by Volkswagen in China, with a view to ensuring the sustainable development of the Chinese automotive industry with uniform global quality standards.

The new Volkswagen plant is located in the Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area (TEDA) in North-East China. Tianjin is the 107^th plant of Volkswagen Group – and the Group's 18^th production location in China. This means that the Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful companies in the Chinese automotive industry. In China, Volkswagen produces models of its group brands Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and ŠKODA for the Chinese market together with its joint-venture partners SAIC and FAW. 

Vehicle production includes the use of engines and vehicle components from local plants. With its new location at Tianjin, the Volkswagen Group is represented at a total of eight vehicle and ten component production locations in China. In order to expand vehicle production, Shanghai Volkswagen has already announced a further new facility in Changsha. FAW-Volkswagen will also be constructing two new vehicle plants at Qingdao and Tianjin. 

In the first three quarters of 2014, Volkswagen Group China, together with its Chinese joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, delivered more than 2.7 million vehicles, representing an increase of 15.2 percent compared with the previous year.