SHANGHAI Volkswagen's Chinese joint venture with SAIC Motor has transformed one of its plants in Shanghai for production, research and development of electric vehicles (EV), the German automaker said on Tuesday.

Production of internal combustion engine models at the main plant of SAIC Volkswagen in Anting of Shanghai will be relocated to other plants, Volkswagen said in an emailed statement to Reuters, which came after comments on social media saying Volkswagen was shutting a plant in Shanghai.

The change will not affect the production capacity for individual models, it added.

The move underscores Volkswagen's efforts to accelerate its shift to electrification as it has been losing shares in its biggest market where it lags behind Chinese rivals in launching new EV models.

Volkswagen-branded cars have been outsold by electrified vehicle maker BYD since November last year, according to data from industrial associations.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)