VW and XPeng's first jointly developed car will be an SUV

Last year Volkswagen took a big stake in Chinese EV maker XPeng, and that resulted in it gaining access to the electronic and electric architecture of the G9. At the time, plans were announced for the two brands to jointly develop two EVs for the Chinese market, and now we know which one will come first.

It will be an SUV, perhaps unsurprisingly given how SUVs have slowly taken over the world in recent years - their popularity is yet to peak. The car will bear the VW logo. According to previous reports, the SUV should hit the market no later than 2026.

VW says the economies of scale from joint purchasing, combined with innovations in design and engineering will slash the development time by more than 30%.

The two companies will jointly source parts for the SUV, leveraging both of their scales in order to reduce costs. VW Group board member and China chief Ralf Brandstaetter said: "In the world's largest and fastest growing EV market, speed is fundamental".

VW is trying to win back some of the Chinese market share it's lost in favor of local players like XPeng itself once the EV revolution started. XPeng, on the other hand, needed the money to keep it going, considering that the G9 wasn't as successful as the company had hoped.

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