By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) May 11 -- German premium auto brand Porsche’s subsidiary Porsche Consulting will collaborate with Hefei City in eastern China’s Anhui Province to accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology, smart city infrastructure, and intelligent connected vehicles industry, Pandaily reported on May 10.

Porsche Consulting has previously worked with Hefei Economic Development Zone. Over the last three years, they have developed strategic plans for smart cities and roadmaps for autonomous driving on behalf of vehicle manufacturers in the zone.

Eberhard Weiblen, President and CEO of Porsche Consulting, visited the city earlier, which has led to speculation that Porsche may expedite its expansion in China’s new energy vehicle industry by establishing its first factory in the country.

Porsche Consulting primarily provides consulting services in corporate management, investment, marketing planning, and corporate image planning. The company’s activities do not necessarily reflect the direction of Porsche’s automotive business.

Porsche’s parent company, Volkswagen Group, is strengthening its partnership with Hefei. During his visit to China in February of this year, Oliver Blume, CEO of both Volkswagen Group and Porsche, emphasized the significance of Anhui Province as a key partner for their organization. He also pledged to increase investment in optimizing development strategies and projects within the region.

In April, Volkswagen Group invested EUR1 billion ($1.09 billion) in building a research and development center for fully connected electric cars in Hefei. The center will focus on integrating vehicle and parts research and development with procurement processes, as well as incorporating advanced technologies from local Chinese suppliers into the automotive development process. This move is expected to reduce product and technology development time by around 30%, enabling better alignment with the needs of Chinese consumers, according to the Pandaily report.