Volkswagen (Anhui) Components Co., Ltd. (VWAC), Volkswagen Group's first wholly-owned battery system plant in China, started production on November 21 in Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui Province.

The high-voltage battery system produced at the plant is a crucial component for Volkswagen Anhui's MEB (Modular Electric Drive Matrix) electric vehicle production, marking the latest milestone in the group's strategic development of Hefei as a high-tech intelligent connected vehicles hub.

Ninety-six percent of the components required for battery production are supplied locally, according to the company.

Covering an area of 45,000 square meters, VWAC sits next to the production facilities of Volkswagen Anhui and has an initial annual capacity of 150,000 to 180,000 high-voltage battery systems.

"With the first high-voltage battery system rolling off the production line at VWAC, Volkswagen Group Components China has shown its dedication to locally developing and producing top-notch backbone components for our electric vehicles," said Olaf Korzinovski, executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China.