HEFEI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The first vehicle model jointly developed by Volkswagen Group and Chinese EV maker XPeng rolled off the production line in China on Friday, the German carmaker said, in the latest sign of Volkswagen's push to deepen its presence in the Chinese market.

"The car was developed in China for China, with German engineering and local cutting-edge technology," said Oliver Blume, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group.

The model, the ID. UNYX 08, was developed locally in less than two years, said Ralf Brandst?tter, Volkswagen Group board member for China.

"We are launching the Group's largest electric vehicle offensive in China," Brandst?tter said, "this underscores the implementation strength of our partnership with XPeng."

XPeng said it looks forward to further deepening cooperation with Volkswagen and achieving mutual benefit.

The launch is one of the outcomes of the long-term strategic partnership the two companies established in 2023. Volkswagen said a second jointly developed model will also be introduced to the market later this year.

The vehicle rolled off the production line at Volkswagen Anhui's plant in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.

Anhui became China's top province for total automobile and new-energy vehicle output in 2025 for the first time. Vehicle exports from the province also surpassed one million units for the first time, keeping it at the top nationwide.

Volkswagen has invested more than 3.5 billion euros (about 4 billion U.S. dollars) in Hefei so far, where its largest research and development center outside Germany now employs around 3,000 R&D staff. ■