Charging ahead with EV strategy

Diesel scandal? What diesel scandal?

Volkswagen Group is charging ahead with electric vehicle production. New initiatives were announced by chief executive Matthias Muller at the company’s Annual Media Conference in Berlin this month, with 16 locations around the globe set to produce battery-powered vehicles by the end of 2022.

The Group currently produces electric vehicles at three locations, and in two years time a further nine group plants are scheduled to be equipped for this purpose.

To ensure adequate battery capacity for the massive expansion of electric mobility, partnerships with battery manufacturers for Europe and China have already been agreed. A supplier decision for North America will be taken shortly.

Muller stressed this did not mean the Group was moving away from conventional powertrains in the wake of the emissions scandal.

Modern diesel drives were part of the solution, not part of the problem, he said – also with regard to climate change.

‘‘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.

‘‘Over the last few months, we have pulled out all the stops to implement ‘Roadmap E’ with the necessary speed and determination,’’ said Muller.

‘‘When Roadmap E was launched last fall, Volkswagen announced plans to build up to three million electric vehicles annually by 2025 and market 80 new electric Group models.

‘‘This year, another nine new vehicles, three of which will be purely electric-powered, will be added to the Group’s electric portfolio of eight e-cars and plugin hybrids.

Electric models on display at this month’s Geneva International Motor Show included the Audi e-tron, the Porsche Mission E and the I.D. Vizzion, another member of the Volkswagen I.D. family.

‘‘From 2019, there will be a new electric vehicle virtually every month. 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.’’