VW raises e-mobility targets for 2030
The VW brand has increased its electric car sales targets in Europe and North America. In Europe, up to 80 per cent of the cars sold by VW are to be BEVs by 2030 instead of the previously planned 70 per cent; in North America, a BEV share of 55 per cent is planned by then – instead of the previous 50 per cent.
The previous targets date back to March 2021 and were presented as part of the ‘ACCELERATE’ strategy by the then VW brand manager Ralf Brandstätter. Until then, the Wolfsburg brand had only planned for 35 per cent electric cars in Europe by 2030. As is well known, Brandstätter has since become a member of the board of directors for China and Herbert Diess is no longer CEO of the group.
Instead, former Skoda boss Thomas Schäfer is now in charge of the brand, while Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has taken over in the group. At his first annual press conference as VW brand boss, Schäfer not only presented an operating profit before special items of 2.6 billion euros with an operating return of 3.6 per cent but also the accelerated electrification plans.
In order to ensure that eight out of ten new Volkswagens are battery-electric by 2030, the Wolfsburg brand wants to launch ten new BEV models by 2026. In the announcement, Volkswagen cites the revised ID.3, the ID.3 GTX, the ID. Buzz with long wheelbase or the ID.7 – and of course the ID.2. Thus, not all ten models are fundamentally new; variants of well-known models are also included. Earlier, Schäfer had already talked about a possible Tiguan-sized compact SUV, which has already been called the ID.3 X – and will be built in Wolfsburg from 2026. Since there was also already speculation about an ID. Buzz GTX has already been speculated and a GTX version of the ID.7 also seems obvious, that would already be eight out of ten premieres. An ID.7 variant as an electric estate could be number nine, a GTX version of this number ten. However, that would leave no room for a small T-Cross-style electric SUV by 2026, or a possible ID.2 X.
While this is still speculation, it is certain that the Emden plant will be completely converted to electric cars in the summer with the start of production of the ID.7, while the Passat will be built in Eastern Europe in future. The first examples of the revised ID.3 will also roll off the production line at the main plant in Wolfsburg from autumn onwards, and the plants in Zwickau and Dresden are already known to have been completely converted to electric cars.
“In the past year, we successfully steered Volkswagen through difficult operational waters while at the same time doing our homework at strategic level,” Schäfer said. “The company is well positioned for the decade of transformation and we are implementing our strategy swiftly and consistently.”
Incidentally, VW is planning a significant increase in deliveries of fully electric vehicles in 2023 – in 2022 there were 330,000 electric cars. “We are cautiously optimistic that the supply situation will stabilize in the course of the year and are working resolutely on our cost position,” says brand CFO Patrik Andreas Mayer.
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