The Volkswagen brand has delivered the 250,000th electric car since the introduction of the e-up! in 2013 and has stated that it sees significantly raised electric car production.

Over the next years, Volkswagen intends to become the world market leader in e-mobility and is investing €33bn throughout the group to 2024, including €11bn in the Volkswagen brand. Under the latest plans, the strategic target of one million electric cars is expected to be reached end of 2023, two years earlier than previously predicted.

“2020 will be a key year for the transformation of Volkswagen. With the market launch of the ID.3 and other attractive models in the ID. family, our electric offensive will also become visible on the roads”, said Thomas Ulbrich, member of the Volkswagen brand board of management responsible for e-mobility. “Our new overall plan for 1.5 million electric cars in 2025 shows that people want climate- friendly individual mobility – and we are making it affordable for millions of people.”

Internationally, preparations for the production start of the ID. family are underway in China and the US.

VW is clearly attempting to place clear water between the emissions scandal and its future, but it faces the prospect of long and protracted legal issues – some of the claims it faces it has accepted in some countries but denied in others, possibility in a belief that different legislations requires different remedies, possibly as a tactic to reach cheaper settlement, possibly as a means to ‘spread out’ the costs of reparations.

The company also faces significant challenges from rivals such as Toyota that have invested in electric vehicles earlier, and new technology entrants such as Tesla and Rivian, agile early adopters such as Jaguar, and well-funded competitors such as BMW and Chinese manufacturers.

All in all, it is the logical move for the company, but it is far from certain what the future of car brands will be. And that is before considering the issues of autonomous driving.

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