Beijing/Frankfurt — Volkswagen’s (VW) world-leading development budget is shifting into overdrive, bolstered by spending at its Chinese joint ventures as the German car maker seeks an edge in producing electric, self-driving cars. The partnerships’ technology investments in the next five years will total €15bn, Jochem Heizmann, head of VW’s business in China, said on Tuesday at a new-model presentation in Beijing. That amounts to an extra 44% on top of the German manufacturer’s own spending to create battery-powered, autonomous systems and related wireless services. The group was increasing its Chinese investments as the market continues to surprise to the upside, Heizmann said. "We need to speed up," CEO Herbert Diess said at the event. "Change is getting faster, more dynamic and more ambitious, especially here in China." Diess replaced Matthias Müller as CEO two weeks ago to accelerate VW’s revamp for the electric-vehicle (EV) era. The world’s biggest car maker outlined a €34bn in...
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