By Victoria Waldersee BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen is partnering with Chinese EV startup Xpeng and joint venture partner SAIC to build new models and potentially co-create platforms, it said on Wednesday, as it attempts to use local expertise to protect market share. The Volkswagen brand will partner with Xpeng Inc to produce two models targeting the middle-class segment which will carry the VW logo but feature Xpeng know-how on software and autonomous driving, a win for the EV startup that is less than a decade old. The new models, to be rolled out from 2026, will plug a gap in Volkswagen's product lineup in China, where the market for so-called "new energy vehicles" has grown faster than expected and Volkswagen lags local competitors and Tesla.