BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen and its Chinese partners have discussed the possibility of them investing in plants in Germany, VW Chief Executive Oliver Blume told Reuters at a conference on Tuesday,
Volkswagen CEO Discusses Chinese Partners' Plans for European Expansion
By Klaus Lauer
BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen's CEO has spoken to the carmaker's Chinese joint venture partners about their interest in investing in Europe but was not aware of any concrete decisions on their part, a VW spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The spokesperson declined to comment on whether any discussions have taken place with joint venture partners on the topic of acquiring Volkswagen's own plants.
Chief Executive Oliver Blume responded earlier on Tuesday to a question from Reuters on whether the CEO would consider entering into talks with potential Chinese investors for German factories.
"When companies invest in Europe, create value, create jobs, that is always viewed positively. We have close partnerships in China - joint venture partners - and of course there are discussions, but no concrete decisions. Something like that must be carefully prepared," Blume said, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Berlin organised by German publication Die Welt.
The spokesperson said in an emailed statement that Blume was not referring to conversations about plants in Germany but to broader conversations about its partners' investment plans in Europe, independent of Volkswagen.
The carmaker was working on a long-term solution for the two German plants that will cease production in coming years - Dresden and Osnabrueck - and would not comment on speculation, the spokesperson added.
Last week, Reuters reported that Chinese investors were shopping for German factories.
Volkswagen has three joint venture partners in China - SAIC, FAW and JAC - and owns a stake in Chinese EV startup Xpeng, none of whom currently have production facilities in Europe.
Numerous Chinese automakers are building, or plan to build, factories in Europe but they have so far shown little public interest in building or buying plants in Germany, known for its high energy and labour costs.
(This story has been corrected to show that the company spokesperson said Volkswagen CEO had spoken to partners about their European expansion plans, not about acquiring VW plants, in paragraphs 1,2 and 5)
(Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Victoria Waldersee, Editing by Miranda Murray and Tomasz Janowski)
