From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen

Authored By:

Jennifer Rives

Yesterday afternoon, we took students to the Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Company in Jiading District for a tour. 

Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Group picture at the entrance of Shanghai Volkswagen

Shanghai Volkswagen is a joint venture company founded in October 1984. It began car production in 1985 and produced most of the vehicles that functioned as taxis and transportation for government officials and business elite. Today, it is still considered one of the most popular, reliable, and well-made car brands in China, producing more than 2 million cars per year at 10 different plants around China. 

Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Students learning about the history of Shanghai Volkswagen

After a video showing some of the car models that are produced in the Shanghai Automotive factory, we were driven onto the assembly line for a look at how Shanghai Volkswagen makes their cars. 

Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Taking golf carts into the body shop assembly line
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Talking golf carts into the body shop assembly line
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Taking golf carts into the body shop
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Taking golf carts into the body shop
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Taking golf carts into the body shop

There, we got to watch huge machines transporting car parts around the factory and welding parts together. We also got to watch factory workers apply parts to the car bodies by hand. Towards the end, we went to the testing area where we watched employees performing tests on the finished vehicles to ensure their quality.

Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Driving into the body shop
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Seeing how cars are assembled inside the body shop
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Driving to the car testing area

The students enjoyed the firsthand look into how Volkswagen cars are actually made. The tour made them appreciate the amount of time and manual work that goes into the creation of a single car. The tour sure made me appreciate my own vehicle and the process it went through to get to me much more!      

Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Cars produced at Shanghai Volkswagen on display
Photo for blog post From the Factory to the Street: A Tour of Shanghai Volkswagen
Lilli, Cathy, and Daphne after finishing our tour of Shanghai Volkswagen