Volkswagen to ensure compliance with China's tough data protection rules
VW is closely observing the new regulations on electric vehicles and data protection for customers
16 July 2021 - 14:29
byBloomberg
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Volkswagen will ensure it is fully compliant with China’s “tough” new rules around data protection, which has ensnared companies from ride-hailing giant Didi Global to Tencent Holdings.
Carmakers are at risk of being caught up in China’s data-security crackdown because electric and self-driving cars generate a treasure-trove of data including information about popular destinations and the routes taken to get there. Already, Tesla cars have been banned from military sites because of concerns their inbuilt cameras can collect sensitive data.
VW is “closely observing” the new regulations, “which are not only about electric vehicles, but also how we as a company have to deal with data protection for customers,” China CEO Stephan Wollenstein, said during a briefing on the automaker’s first-half sales.
The German-based company will adjust its organisational structure to make sure it is “fully compliant” with the regulations, “which are pretty tough,” Wollenstein said, without providing further detail.
In highlights from the sales report:
VW delivered 1.84 million cars in the six months ended June 30, a 16% increase from a year earlier
It held on to the No. 1 spot in the world’s biggest auto market, with an 18% market share
It delivered more than 2,900 of its new ID.4 electric sports utility vehicle in June. Tesla, which sold 28,138 locally built EVs last month, last week unveiled a cheaper standard-range Model Y SUV, which will compete head-to-head with VW’s ID range
Total sales of the five-model ID range, including one to be released later this year, should reach 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles by the end of the year
The current quarter “remains dynamic and hard to predict,” Wollenstein said. Fresh Covid-19 outbreaks across Asia are forcing semiconductor factories to close, exacerbating a shortage of chips that has crunched global automakers.
“We hope the chip supply crisis will bottom out this summer and expect to see an improvement in this situation within the second half of the year,” he said. “However, the global chip shortage will continue into 2022, albeit, hopefully, in a weakened form.”
Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Volkswagen to ensure compliance with China's tough data protection rules
VW is closely observing the new regulations on electric vehicles and data protection for customers
Volkswagen will ensure it is fully compliant with China’s “tough” new rules around data protection, which has ensnared companies from ride-hailing giant Didi Global to Tencent Holdings.
Carmakers are at risk of being caught up in China’s data-security crackdown because electric and self-driving cars generate a treasure-trove of data including information about popular destinations and the routes taken to get there. Already, Tesla cars have been banned from military sites because of concerns their inbuilt cameras can collect sensitive data.
VW is “closely observing” the new regulations, “which are not only about electric vehicles, but also how we as a company have to deal with data protection for customers,” China CEO Stephan Wollenstein, said during a briefing on the automaker’s first-half sales.
The German-based company will adjust its organisational structure to make sure it is “fully compliant” with the regulations, “which are pretty tough,” Wollenstein said, without providing further detail.
In highlights from the sales report:
The current quarter “remains dynamic and hard to predict,” Wollenstein said. Fresh Covid-19 outbreaks across Asia are forcing semiconductor factories to close, exacerbating a shortage of chips that has crunched global automakers.
“We hope the chip supply crisis will bottom out this summer and expect to see an improvement in this situation within the second half of the year,” he said. “However, the global chip shortage will continue into 2022, albeit, hopefully, in a weakened form.”
Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Volkswagen raises profit target as it outlines EV battery plans
EU fines Volkswagen and BMW €875m over diesel emissions
Stellantis lays €30bn on electric vehicle market
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Now China motorists can snap up a Tesla Model Y for less
Peugeot 3008 claws at higher segment
Global chip crisis is worsening, Jaguar warns
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.