VW to roll out electric trucks, buses

Hamburg, Germany - Volkswagen AG (VW) is flanking its push into electric cars with plans to roll out battery-powered commercial vehicles targeted at urban areas as growing public concerns about air quality boost demand.

The Volkswagen Truck & Bus division will invest € 1.4bn in new technology including electric drivetrains, autonomous systems and cloud-based software, Andreas Renschler, head of the unit, said on Wednesday in an interview in Hamburg. The German company’s US affiliate Navistar International Corp will adopt some of the systems, while the carmaker’s MAN and Scania nameplates will both deliver wholly electric buses next year to European cities, adding to biodiesel, hybrid systems and natural-gas line-ups.

“We believe in a wide range of alternative powertrains and fuels, depending on local availability, social and local demand and customer requirements,” Renschler said at a press event. ‘Therefore it is crucial that policy makers adopt a technology-neutral approach’ in any regulations.

Electric trucks for local deliveries will probably exceed a five per cent market share by 2025, according to Renschler. That compares to a forecast of about 25 per cent for battery-powered cars.