AIM: VW Group to reach EV summit?
Volkswagen Group are looking to become global market-leaders in the electric vehicle (EV) market by 2018.
Initially offering a choice of 14 electric and hybrid models next year, the Group are pledging billions of pounds worth of investment to reach the EV market summit.
If there is sufficient demand, up to 40 new models could be fitted with alternative drivetrains within five years.
Professor Doctor Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft said that the company had placed electric mobility ‘at the centre of the group’.
Around 70,000 employees will be trained in the new offerings, which attempt to win new customers with their improved ‘technical maturity and practicality in everyday use’.
“We are starting at exactly the right time,” said Professor Winterkorn.
“We are electrifying all vehicle classes, and therefore have everything we need to make the Volkswagen Group the top automaker in all respects, including electric mobility, by 2018.
“We have the most comprehensive approach to tomorrow’s mobility.
“From highly-efficient, eco-friendly diesel, gasoline and natural gas-fuelled engines to classical hybrids, purely battery-driven vehicles and plug-in hybrids – no other automaker can match the broad range we have to offer.”
Volkswagen are currently showcasing models such as the all-electric e-up!, e-Golf, Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid and the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Professor Winterkorn said environmental compatibility and sustainability are increasingly becoming the main purchasing criterion for buyers.
He added that electric-drive vehicles were a key building block for achieving the ambitious climate protection targets, and that the plug-in hybrid had the greatest market potential.
“The electric car cannot be a compromise on wheels, it must convince customers in every respect,” he said.
“From the zero-emission city car, through the plug-in hybrid all-rounder to the three-litre sports saloon, it is our customers who decide for themselves just how much e-mobility they want.”
