Volkswagen: Reliable partner to Beijing Olympics and to China

To be reliable has always been a core value of Volkswagen Group China. With this in mind, the company has been striving to become the most reliable partner of the Chinese auto industry and various sectors of its society, while simultaneously promoting the sustainable development of China's auto sector and its own as well.

As the first foreign multinational auto companies to have strategically entered China, with a total investment of about 6 billion euros from 1985 to 2006, and a long-term leader in the nation's auto market, Volkswagen has always been engaged in the development of partnerships with various Chinese stakeholders. Its efforts mainly focus on the following three aspects:

First, Volkswagen provides consumers with the most "reliable" products and services that represent "German technologies and standards" and meet the demands of the Chinese market;

Second, as the longest partner to China's auto industry, Volkswagen has helped to set up the auto parts system and infrastructure of China's modern auto industry. It cooperates with its industrial partners, including distributors and parts and components suppliers, in a common effort to achieve a multi-win situation;

Third, Volkswagen works closely with communities and governments at various levels to promote the sustainable development of the Chinese auto industry and market, and to aid the harmonious progress of Chinese society by actively engaging in community and public welfare undertakings, according to Winfried Vahland, executive vice-pesident of Volkswagen Group and president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.

The latest fulfillment of Volkswagen's commitment is to help ensure a most successful Olympic Games as the official partner to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Putting China on wheels

Looking back on the development of Volkswagen Group China over the past 20 years, the efforts regarding these three aspects have been centered on one theme, one most strenuous task of all - to help and guide China's modern auto industry in solving the key problems that it encountered at various stages of its development

A witness to the early days of the formation of China's auto industry, Volkswagen was the first to set up auto joint ventures in China, first Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) and then FAW-Volkswagen.

During this period, Volkswagen cooperated with a full range of stakeholders in the country, including the Chinese government, to establish the initial supportive parts and components industry, build the basic infrastructure, introduce the latest technologies and management models, and set up its network of distributors and training talents, thereby laying the necessary foundation for the subsequent development of the Chinese auto industry.

Since then, Volkswagen has imposed the strictest requirements on product quality, brought into full play the advantages of its fully developed sales and service networks, and guided the development of China's auto industry through active innovation on the basis of its in-depth understanding of, and extensive experience with, the Chinese market.

While commenting on the past development of Volkswagen in China, external sources have been quoted as calling Volkswagen the company that helped to "put China on wheels".

Investment for the future

The ability to develop new and, more importantly, marketable products is one of the core competencies of carmakers. The number of Volkswagen's joint ventures in China has been increasing. They have seen considerable development of facilities in recent years, helped by the investment of more than 350 million euros ($472.5 million) into such development at the outset.

SVW marked a milestone for Volkswagen in China in early 2001, when the manufacture of Polo began. SVW was the first carmaker to offer Chinese customers a new model almost simultaneously with its world premiere. Another example is the New Passat Lingyu, launched in November 2005, which was developed by SVW exclusively for the Chinese market.

The training of Chinese employees is one of the most paramount goals of Volkswagen Group China. Apprenticeships and advanced training schemes for local personnel are being conducted in Germany and other foreign locations, as well as in China itself.

For this purpose, both SVW and FAW-Volkswagen have set up training centers, where training is conducted in accordance with the dual system used in Germany. Indeed, this system has won the recognition of the entire Chinese automotive industry as a standard to be emulated.

Volkswagen has also embarked on collaborations with a number of Chinese universities.

It attaches great value to its employees, whose development is intrinsically linked with the company's long-term success in China. Thus Volkswagen in China offers employees a series of schemes in order to provide them with even better and more systematic career development.

Olympic partner to ensure sustainable development

With the rapid development of the Chinese auto market, the issues of energy conservation, safety and environmental protection have become increasingly crucial for China's auto industry. On the one hand, the cognition of and attitude towards these issues embody Volkswagen's position concerning its own development trend as well as that of the entire auto industry.

Therefore, addressing these issues through practical and effective action constitutes the most direct response of Volkswagen in this regard. On the other hand, as is known to all, Volkswagen has become an auto partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and, as such, has vowed to help China come up with the most successful Olympic Games in history. Volkswagen Group China, together with Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, will provide the Beijing Olympics with cars powered by new, clean and substitute fuels such as Sunfuel and Synfuel, and participate in such major programs as torch relay and Olympic-related receptions.

The concepts of "Green Olympics, Hi-tech Olympics and People's Olympics" advocated by Beijing happen to parallel the goals of "energy-saving, safety and environmental protection" that Volkswagen has aspired for.

As early as in 2000, Volkswagen donated 4 million yuan for the construction of a giant panda research center in Beijing Zoo, as part of its environmental protection drive.

This March, Volkswagen announced the all-round implementation of its "Powertrain Strategy". By introducing the most advanced scientific and technological achievements in "energy saving and emission reduction" to its local joint ventures, Volkswagen pledged to reduce the fuel consumption and exhaust emission of all car models produced by Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen by more than 20 percent by the end of 2010.

In April, Volkswagen Group China and the Publicity and Education Center of the State Environmental Protection Administration jointly launched an environmental education program entitled "Volkswagen Green Future" initiatives, marking a new chapter in Volkswagen Group China's involvement in CSR activities. In the three years from 2007 and 2009, the program will initiate a series of environmental education activities. It will, through interactions among multiple sides, encourage students in green schools across China to study and discuss knowledge about environmental protection, and enhance their environmental protection awareness, so as to contribute to the holding of a green Olympics and the building of an energy-saving and eco-friendly society.

Besides, Shanghai Volkswagen launched an afforestation plan for the Beijing Olympics this March. Under this plan, it promised that it would contribute a certain part of the sales revenue for each car sold to a fund that would then be used to plant a tree, starting from the 500-day countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In addition, Shanghai Volkswagen also joined hands with UNICEF in a plan to recruit "Volkswagen Caring Ambassadors for the 2008 Olympics", hoping to spread the Olympic spirit to landlocked remote mountainous areas, inform children in these areas of the outside world and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and enable college students to better experience the Olympics.

Meanwhile, FAW-Volkswagen will invest 400, 000 yuan in building a FAW-Volkswagen forest, an Audi Forest, a car owners' forest, and an Olympic forest in the public welfare forest zone.

It is expected that more public welfare forests of FAW-Volkswagen will be built in other parts of China. Besides, FAW-Volkswagen is also sponsor of "New Future of China" program along with the China Athlete Education Foundation. Under this program, more children in mountainous areas will be able to learn about the Olympics before 2008 and share the joy that it will bring.

Volkswagen also cooperates with Tongji University in conducting a research program on "Road Traffic Safety", to further improve road safety by tackling the issue right from the starting point - the manufacturing of automobiles. Also, Volkswagen Education Fund established at Tongji University is to bring more talents for China's auto industry and to give financial support to the students.

In addition to all this, Volkswagen has also actively engaged in the sponsorship of the Beijing Music Festival, the China Open Table Tennis Tournament, the "Health Express", technological transfer projects, and talent cultivation and coordinated scientific research projects at Tongji University, making practical and effective contributions to the Chinese society.

To win a gold medal in 2008

Looking back, it's obvious that more than 20 years of Volkswagen's development in China has been a course of fulfilling the promise of "being the most reliable". By working closely with various partners including the government, Volkswagen has brought about a win-win situation for all, not only China's auto industry and consumers, but also the entire Chinese economy and Volkswagen itself.

This also reflects the concept of sustainable development that Volkswagen has always stood for, that is, to base the development of Volkswagen on the harmonious development of the entire industry.

As an official partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Volkswagen has unfolded its "Olympic Restructuring Program" in China, which has already yielded remarkable results.

Through the program, Volkswagen aims to win a gold medal in the year 2008 - to become the most distinguished carmaker in China. And looking into the future, Volkswagen will continue to strive, as it always has, to become the best corporate citizen of China and the most reliable partner of all social circles of the country!

(China Daily 08/25/2007 page12)