Multiple New Models on the Way: Volkswagen Launches Trial Production of New Vehicles

The FAW-Volkswagen joint venture is gearing up for a large-scale refresh of its lineup in China. According to reports, the company’s Tianjin plant has already begun trial production of one of its upcoming models, internally codenamed AU336. Full-scale mass production is scheduled to start in 2026.

Between 2026 and 2027, the joint venture plans to bring several new vehicles to the assembly line. The plant is gradually being transformed into a flexible manufacturing hub capable of producing gasoline-powered cars, hybrid models, and fully electric vehicles on a single production line.

A key pillar of this transformation is the so-called “oil and electricity on one line” strategy, which allows Volkswagen to quickly adapt to shifting market demand. This approach is particularly important in China, where growing interest in electric vehicles coexists with steady demand for conventional internal-combustion and hybrid powertrains.

Earlier, in 2025, the facility underwent a major modernization. Production capacity for both Volkswagen and Audi models was expanded, and the number of vehicles assembled in mixed production mode increased to seven. Thanks to the introduction of smart manufacturing technologies, assembly speed reached 65 vehicles per hour, and the plant surpassed the milestone of one million vehicles produced.

Rather than betting on a single type of powertrain, FAW-Volkswagen is prioritizing flexibility—an approach that appears especially well-suited to the Chinese market, where consumer preferences are evolving faster than traditional model cycles.