“Volkswagen Group and its joint venture partners are accelerating the transformation towards electric, intelligent, connected vehicles,” the spokesman said.

“Many SAIC Volkswagen sites are currently being converted or have already been converted for electric vehicle production,” he added.

The spokesman confirmed that production had ceased at a plant in Nanjing, a move first reported by business daily Handelsblatt.

A company source told AFP that part of the reason for stopping production was the plant’s urban location, which makes retrofitting and expansion work for electric vehicle (EV) production difficult.

EV sales are far advanced in China, the world’s largest car market, forcing European companies that have traditionally specialised in petrol or diesel vehicles to respond.

Volkswagen itself has suffered years of declining sales in China in the face of EVs offered by local competitors such as BYD.

It is trying to fight back using local expertise as part of its “In China, for China” strategy.

“The production network will also be aligned with and optimised for this comprehensive strategic push,” the spokesman said.

Volkswagen said Wednesday that its vehicle deliveries in China had dropped by just over 2% in the first half of this year.

That fall was nevertheless smaller than the 7.4% drop it reported in the first half of last year.