Porsche to Accelerate the Development of Autonomous Driving in China’s Hefei

The local official of Hefei, Anhui Province recently announced that Eberhard Weiblen, President and CEO of Porsche Consulting, visited the city. This news has led to market speculation that Porsche may expedite its expansion in China’s new energy vehicle industry by establishing its first vehicle production factory in the country.

Porsche has responded to the rumor by stating that its subsidiary, Porsche Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., which specializes in strategic and business consulting, will collaborate closely with the Hefei Economic Development Zone. The aim of this collaboration is to accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology and promote cooperation on smart city infrastructure as well as intelligent connected vehicles industry.

Industry insiders believe that Porsche will not establish a vehicle factory in China, although there has been no official statement regarding the localization of Porsche cars.

Porsche Consulting primarily provides services in corporate management consulting, business consulting, investment consulting, marketing planning, and corporate image planning. It is important to note that the company’s activities do not necessarily reflect the direction of Porsche’s automotive business.

It’s important to mention that Porsche Consulting has previously collaborated with Hefei Economic Development Zone. Over the last three years, they have developed strategic plans for smart cities and roadmaps for autonomous driving on behalf of vehicle manufacturers in the zone.

Porsche’s parent company, Volkswagen Group, is strengthening its partnership with Hefei. During his visit to China in February of this year, Oliver Blume, CEO of both Volkswagen Group and Porsche, emphasized the significance of Anhui as a key partner for their organization. He also pledged to increase investment in optimizing development strategies and projects within the region.

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In April, Volkswagen Group revealed its intention to invest approximately 1 billion euros in creating a research and development center for pure electric intelligent networked vehicles in Hefei. The center will focus on integrating vehicle and parts research and development with procurement processes, as well as incorporating advanced technologies from local Chinese suppliers into the automotive development process. This move is expected to reduce product and technology development time by around 30%, enabling better alignment with the needs of Chinese consumers.