Yahoo Movies VW accelerates EV shift, wants to be dominant electric brand by 2030
FRANKFURT — Volkswagen's namesake brand plans to more than double its market share of fully electric vehicles in total European sales by 2030, the company said on Friday, accelerating the carmaker's shift toward battery-powered cars.
VW has increased its goal to claiming 70% of total electric vehicle sales in Europe by 2030, compared with a previous target of 35%, the world's second-largest carmaker said as it unveiled its 'Accelerate' strategy.
To achieve this, VW plans to roll out at least one new battery electric vehicle model each year, if not more. In 2021, the brand will introduce the all-wheel-drive ID.4 GTX in the first half of the year, and the sporty ID.5 sometime in the second half. The ID.6 X/CROZZ, a seven-seat SUV, will be introduced in the fall for the Chinese market.
VW said it has pushed plans for an EV smaller than the ID.3 off to 2025.
"With Accelerate we are increasing the speed on our path to a digital future," said Ralf Brandstaetter, who heads the Volkswagen brand and also sits on the group's management board.
In China and the United States, VW intends to claim 50 percent of market share by 2030, taking aim at rivals including Tesla to become the world's leader in electric vehicle production. China is the world's largest automotive market, and highly competitive. Many Chinese companies, including companies that are not currently automakers, have announced they are planning to join the fray and build EVs.
"Of all the major manufacturers, Volkswagen has the best chance of winning the race. While competitors are still in the middle of the electric transformation, we are taking big steps toward digital transformation," Brandstaetter said.
And yet, Brandstaetter said that VW still plans one more generation of its combustion-engine vehicles, including the Golf, Tiguan, Passat, Tayron and T-ROC. But they'll be PHEVs.
“We will still need combustion engines for a while, but they should be as efficient as possible, which is why the next generation of our core products – all of which are world models – will also be fitted with the latest generation of plug-in hybrid technology, with an electric range of up to 100 kilometers.”
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