Volkswagen to produce electric version of each vehicle by 2030

German vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has announced that every vehicle in its model portfolio will have an electric version on sale to customers by 2030, in a move described by the company as the "largest electromobility campaign in the automotive industry".


VW revealed on Monday (11 September) that at least one electric version of the group’s near 300 models would be produced, including models under Audi, Scania, SEAT, SKODA and Porsche.

The company will mobilise this intent through a €20bn direct investment in to industrialising electromobility by 2030. As part of the commitment, VW will deliver more than 80 new electric vehicles (EVs) to customers by 2025, including 50 fully-electric and 30 plug-in hybrids.

Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show, VW’s chief executive Matthias Müller said: “We want to make Volkswagen the world’s number 1 when it comes to electromobility by 2025. Depending on how the market develops, we’re talking here about up to three million e-cars a year.

“Nothing can stop the transformation in our industry. And we’ll lead that transformation. Our goal is to redefine mobility. To make it sustainable, clean and better for our customers worldwide. That’s what drives us. That drives me personally. And it’s what 600,000 employees at the Volkswagen Group and our brands are working to accomplish.”

VW is keen to move on from the dieselgate scandal which shook the confidence of the sector back in 2015. The company has already pledged to invest €6bn over the next five years to develop its EVs at a factory in Dresden.

However, VW is aware that production of EVs will need to overcome concerns surrounding charging infrastructure and battery range. The company notes that it will need a battery capacity of more than 150 GWh annually by 2025 to fit its own e-fleet with lithium-ion batteries. VW also confirmed that it would pursue batteries that could offer a driving range of more than 370 miles on a single charge.

Charging ahead

VW is still finalising how it intends to roll out its EV vision, but the company did suggest that around a quarter of all new vehicles from the group could be fully-electric. However, the company will continue to invest in new vehicles that run on diesel, gasoline and CNG to reduce emissions as a bridge to its EV portfolio.

The German company is the latest in the automotive sector to signal its intent to switch to an EV portfolio. Last week, Uber announced it was adding a 35p green fee charge to all rides in London to facilitate a £150m funding pot that enables all drivers to transition to electric vehicles by 2022.

In fact, Uber’s announcement arrived just days after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced that from 2020 all new vehicle models will be electric. That pledge arrived two months after Swedish car manufacturer Volvo issued a similar pledge to ensure that every new vehicle from 2019 onwards will have an electric motor.

At a national level, both the UK and Scottish governments are gearing up for the expansion of EVs, with diesel and petrol cars and vans to be phased out in Scotland by 2032, eight years earlier than the UK Government’s target

Matt Mace

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