VW says it plans to continue to produce cars and trucks with conventional drive systems, as well as Volkswagen EVs. Volkswagen image.
16 locations globally will produce Volkswagen EVs by the end of 2022
Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, the CEO of Volkswagen announced his company is planning on building VW EVs at 16 locations world-wide by the end of 2022.
Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG, made the announcement at VW’s annual media conference.
Currently, Volkswagen EVs are producd at three locations, but within two years, VW says it will be building electric vehicles at another nine plants. VW says it is forging partnerships with battery manufacturers in Europe and China in deals worth about €20 billion.
The company says it will soon decide on a North American supplier soon.
Last fall, VW launched “Roadmap E”, its comprehensive electrification program. Under “Roadmap E”, the company says it plans to build up to three million EVs annually by 2025 as well as market 80 new electric models. In 2018, another nine new vehicles, three purely electric-powered, will be added to Volkswagen’s lineup of e-cars and plug-in hybrids.
“Over the last few months, we have pulled out all the stops to implement ‘Roadmap E’ with the necessary speed and determination,” CEO Müller said.
Last week at the Geneva International Motor Show, the Volkswagen Group unveiled the Audi e-tron, the Porsche Mission E and the I.D. VIZZION.
Beginning in 2019, there will be a new EV “virtually every month”, Müller said. He added “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.”
Despite the company’s enthusiasm for EVs, Volkswagen says it is not turning its back on conventional drive systems. Müller says modern diesel drives are part of the solution, not the problem.
“We are making massive investments in the mobility of tomorrow, but without neglecting current technologies and vehicles that will continue to play an important role for decades to come,” said Müller. “We are putting almost € 20 billion into our conventional vehicle and drive portfolio in 2018, with a total of more than € 90 billion scheduled over the next five years.”
Autonomous vehicles are also part of WV’s plans. SEDRIC was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2017.
Müller says VW is advancing its self-driving technology which is seen as a key product in years to come. “The future of mobility is gradually taking shape, as is the future of the Volkswagen Group,” Müller said.
And Volkswagen is heading into the transformation in good shape financially, in spite of having to pay out billions following dieselgate. By the end of 2017, Volkswagen’s net liquidity amounted to € 22.4 billion.
“The results of the year 2017 demonstrate, we are actively shaping the transformation of our company,” said CFO Frank Witter.
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