This aerial photo taken on Aug. 20, 2023 shows a view of Volkswagen (Anhui) Automotive Company Limited in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Volkswagen Group China on Thursday announced that it will invest 2.5 billion euros (about 2.68 billion U.S. dollars) in the expansion of its innovation hub in Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui Province, to increase its pace of innovation in China.

The investment will also be used to accelerate the production of two Volkswagen-brand smart electric vehicles, which are currently under joint development with Chinese manufacturer XPENG.

"This additional investment in the site underlines our ambition to quickly expand our local innovative strength," Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China Ralf Brandstätter said, adding that the hub in Hefei will bring technologies to market approximately 30 percent faster in the future.

By 2030, Volkswagen will offer over 30 all-electric vehicle models in the Chinese market, with production of its first model developed in cooperation with XPENG scheduled to begin in 2026.

Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd., located in Hefei, is the company's implementation hub for its production localization strategy. It will work closely with Volkswagen's joint ventures in China and undertake core development tasks.

With an investment of 1 billion euros, the hub is Volkswagen's largest research and development center outside of Germany.