STORY: Volkswagen is deepening its ties with Chinese EV maker Xpeng.
The pair said Monday that they would expand their partnership to build an ultra-fast charging network for electric cars.
They will open their existing Chinese networks to each other's customers.
That covers about 20,000 charging systems across 420 cities in the country.
And they will explore joint construction of new co-branded sites.
Xpeng and VW first formed a partnership in 2023.
At the time, the German giant bought a stake of almost 5% in the Chinese firm for $700 million.
The companies said they would jointly launch two VW-branded EVs in China by 2026.
Volkswagen later said it had worked with Xpeng to develop a new architecture for intelligent and electric cars.
It said that would allow it to offer more affordable EVs in its biggest market.