Volkswagen intensifies electric vehicle plans with production drive
Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller has pledged to roll out a new electric model “virtually every month” from the start of next year, as the group ramps up its investment in the production of electric vehicles
The Volkswagen Group has seen significant advancement in its futuristic electric car concepts over the last few years, with new models such as the ID Vizzion
On March 13, the Volkswagen Group announced it would be making an even more aggressive push into the electric vehicle (EV) space, with CEO Matthias Müller revealing the group intends to roll out a new EV “virtually every month” from next year.
Speaking at the company’s annual media conference in Berlin, Müller said: “This is how we intend to offer the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the world, across all brands and regions, in just a few years.”
The Volkswagen Group – which owns brands Audi, Porsche and Bentley, among others – currently dedicates three of its factories to producing a limited portfolio of EVs. However, under the group’s new directive, this number is set to quadruple within just two years, as Volkswagen seeks to extend EV production to 16 of its factories by the end of 2022.
The plan to ramp up production builds on Volkswagen’s ‘Roadmap E‘ initiative, which promises to bring 80 new electric vehicles to market by 2025
The plan builds on Volkswagen’s ‘Roadmap E‘ initiative, which was launched last September and promises to bring 80 new EVs to market by 2025, when the group also expects to have the capacity to produce three million EVs annually.
Volkswagen has already awarded contracts worth €20bn ($24.6bn) to battery manufacturers in Europe and China, and plans to purchase around €50bn ($61.6bn) of EV batteries in total. The company has also revealed it is still looking for a battery supplier in North America.
This ambitious electric strategy stands in sharp contrast to Volkswagen’s 2015 emissions scandal, wherein the company’s diesel vehicles were found to have ‘defeat devices’ installed to cheat emissions tests.
At the conference, Volkswagen Group CFO Frank Witter also announced a record €230.7bn ($284.4bn) in revenue, with year-on-year decreases for Volkswagen and Bentley more than made up for by increases across other brands in the portfolio.
The Volkswagen Group has seen significant advancement in its futuristic electric car concepts over the past few years, with new models, such as Bentley’s EXP 12 Speed 6e, Audi’s stylish e-tron quattro and Volkswagen’s ID Vizzion, demonstrating the group’s commitment to its new, forward-looking strategy.
