By Evelyn Cheng
Publication Date: 2026-03-16 23:00:00
Volkswagen announced Friday, March 13, 2026, that it started production of its first all-electric SUV, the ID. UNYX 08, that uses Xpeng’s automotive chip.
Volkswagen
Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot of what I’m seeing and hearing from local businesses.
Today, I talk to Volkswagen China’s chief technology officer about how they are pivoting away from engines. It starts with chips, obviously, but which company’s?
Enjoy!
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The big story
Volkswagen is preparing for a future driven by chips. And, at least in China, Nvidia isn’t part of the picture.
With advanced tech from local Chinese players, “for us, there is no reason to stick [to] Nvidia,” Thomas Ulbrich, chief technology officer of Volkswagen Group China, told me last week. We chatted in his office, during one of his rare days at the German automaker’s Beijing headquarters.
Ulbrich spends most of the time in Hefei, an automotive hub just hours from Shanghai.
That’s where Volkswagen’s factories are located, as well as its biggest research and development center outside of Germany. For semiconductors, the company has a joint venture with Chinese automotive chip company Horizon Robotics, and a partnership with electric car company Xpeng, which has developed its own “Turing” car chip.
The Xpeng Turing chip is part of Volkswagen’s first all-electric SUV, the ID. UNYX 08. Production…