Volkswagen’s foremost model is accelerating the swap to Electrical-Know-how Information, Firstpost

ReutersMar 06, 2021 12:16:25 AM

By Christoph Steitz and Jan Schwartz

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen wants electric vehicles to make up the majority of European sales of its core brand by 2030, said the youngest carmaker on Friday, which should accelerate the switch to battery-powered models.

All-electric vehicles are expected to account for more than 70% of total European vehicle sales by 2030, compared to an earlier target of 35%, the world’s second largest automaker said when it unveiled its “Accelerate” strategy.

“With Accelerate we are accelerating the path to a digital future,” said Ralf Brandstaetter, who heads the Volkswagen brand and is also a member of the Group’s board of management.

“In the years to come, we will change Volkswagen like never before,” he added, saying that integrating data and software functions into cars would open up new revenue streams.

Volkswagen, which is being challenged by Apple, Google and Amazon, also plans to offer self-driving vehicles and wants to develop its own operating systems – the heart of future electric cars – in order to benefit from data-based business models.

“If you put that in the hands of a third party, you can no longer develop these business models yourself,” said Brandstaetter.

Volkswagen has earmarked around 16 billion euros for investments in future trends in electromobility, hybridization and digitalization by 2025.

The group had lagged behind on electrification until 2015 admitting cheating on US diesel emissions tests and grappling with new Chinese electric vehicle quotas.

This resulted in a strategic move to zero-emission and self-driving technology and now has one of the most ambitious programs in the industry.

Automakers are also looking to develop electric vehicles to meet Europe’s stricter CO2 emissions targets. This week, Volvo joined a growing number of automakers aiming for an all-electric lineup by 2030.

Stellantis, the product of the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA, plans to have fully electric or hybrid versions of all of its vehicles in Europe by 2025.

In China and the United States, Volkswagen expects the proportion of all-electric vehicles sold to rise to 50% by 2030 in order to evade competitors like Tesla and become a global leader in the production of electric vehicles.

“Of all the major manufacturers, Volkswagen has the best chance of winning the race. While the competitors are still in the middle of the electrical transformation, we are taking big steps towards digital transformation,” said Brandstaetter.

($ 1 = 0.8377 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Jan Schwartz. Writing by Keith Weir. Editing by Riham Alkousaa and Mark Potter)

This story was not edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by automatic feed.