In Depth: Volkswagen’s EV Missteps in China

Volkswagen once acted as leader and educator to help China create its modern auto industry. Its Santana sedan was the beginning of learning about cars for many of China’s first generation of car owners. For decades since Volkswagen entered China in the 1980s it was the top seller almost every year.

Now as the German auto giant initiates a radical shift toward electric vehicles, it faces declining sales in the world’s largest auto market amid shrinking demand for mid-priced vehicles and fierce competition from Tesla and local Chinese EV brands.