Shanghai Volkswagen Powertrain Co Ltd was established on April 29, 2005, as a joint venture between Volkswagen (China) Investment Co Ltd and SAIC Motor Corporation Limited. It has a large-scale automobile engine production base that adopts one of the world's most advanced technologies and techniques.
The company is located in the north of the Jiading Industrial Zone in Shanghai, covering 289,500 square meters. The first-phase project cost 1.8 billion yuan ($261 million) and has realized annual output of 330,000 engines. The second phase was launched in 2009 with investment of 4.4 billion yuan, and was officially put into operation in 2011. The annual production capacity was therefore lifted to 780,000 units. The third phase started in 2011 with a total investment of 3.2 billion yuan. It is estimated that, after the completion of the first round of technological upgrading which began in 2014, annual production capacity will be elevated to 1.45 million units. At present, the company employs about 2,300 workers.