Foreign automakers have been caught flat-footed in China by an electric vehicle boom that has shaken up the market over the last three years. That has left manufacturers like Volkswagen scrambling to develop new models for a very different market than at home. The Volkswagen Group, which includes Audi and Porsche, plans to launch 40 new models in China over the next three years and to have a lineup of 30 EVs by 2030. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume described China to investors on Wednesday as the company’s “second home market.” But VW is expanding far beyond its roots as a maker of no-frills sedans used by Chinese taxi fleets.
