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FAW-Volkswagen engineer meets challenges in China

By HAN JUNHONG in Changchun and ZHOU HUIYING | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: September 17, 2021
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Peter Lippold, a German engineer, is product manager for FAW-Volkswagen's B-class cars. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Over the past 18 years, Peter Lippold has witnessed the rapid growth of FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co, a Sino-German carmaker, along with the rapid development of China.

Founded in Changchun, Jilin province, in 1991, FAW-Volkswagen has become an important cooperative link, with many German experts in the company, including Lippold.

The maker of passenger vehicles is jointly managed by China's First Automotive Group Corp, Germany's Volkswagen AG and Audi AG as well as Volkswagen (China) Investment Co.

"I came to FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun in January 2003 as an electrical engineer to support the development and localization of electronic auto parts," he said. "It was my first time to China and I had no clear picture about the country."

"The new position was a challenge for me – a new culture, new language, new surroundings and a new way of life," he said. "But I like to learn new things."

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Peter Lippold (middle) celebrates his birthday with colleagues at FAW-Volkswagen, a Changchun-based Sino-German carmaker. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

After two years in Changchun, he returned to Germany and was involved in the development of the MQB (Modular Querbaukasten) platform – the company's strategy for shared modular design for certain front-engine automobiles. He brought the platform to China in 2010 and visited the country several times over the following six years.

In 2016, he returned to Changchun as product manager for FAW-Volkswagen's B-class cars.

"The growth of China's automobile industry was really impressive," he said. "In 2003, only 4 million of the company's cars were sold. By 2019, more than 23 million were sold. In 2003, we had six models, but in 2020 more than 40 models were available to customers."

Moreover, he said, the development of electric vehicles in China created many opportunities for both Chinese and foreign automobile enterprises.

"This is also a big challenge for FAW-Volkswagen. As an enterprise that mainly produces oil-fueled vehicles, we have changed," he said. Now the company also brings electric vehicles into the marketplace.

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Peter Lippold (second row, fourth from left) sends a donation to students with disabilities in Changchun, Jilin province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]