Volkswagen emissions scandal: One year on, the future looks electric
Bosses reveal radical batterypowered shake-up for range
VOLKSWAGEN is targeting a pure electric car with a range of nearly 400 miles after admitting it has accelerated its EV programme following the diesel emissions scandal that rocked the company a year ago.
The German manufacturer has said its Tesla-rivalling EV (see panel, opposite) will be based on the new electric MEB platform, developed exclusively for its electric cars, using lithium-ion batteries.
Sales and marketing boss Jürgen Stackmann told Auto Express that electric cars will be “a key positioning item for the future” and admitted the new-found focus is in part down to the emissions scandal which is continuing to rumble on. He said: “Without the whole thing this would not have happened at the same speed. It would have happened, but I don’t think as radical, organised or with the passion that clearly is behind it now.”
Earlier in the year VW announced its Strategy 2025 to launch 30 new electric models over the next decade. The new vehicles will include standalone electric models, as well as electric versions of the existing line-up.
The Strategy 2025 was the first key announcement by new boss Matthias Müller, who replaced Martin Winterkorn as CEO. Winterkorn resigned shortly before VW announced that 11 million vehicles worldwide would need to be recalled as they contained ‘defeat device’ software. This was designed to put the car into a lower emissions mode when undergoing emissions tests.
The existence of a defeat device put the whole automotive industry under scrutiny, and prompted government inspections worldwide. Although VW has been the only company found guilty of cheating tests, Mitsubishi has since revealed it inflated its fuel economy figures, while Fiat has faced so far unproven accusations.
The UK Government also launched a £1million investigation and revealed the majority of manufacturers were using temperature-based strategies to pass lab tests, although this was all deemed legal.
VW is currently rolling out the fix for its affected models. A spokesman told us it has already fixed 110,000 of the 1,189,906 cars in the UK. For the 1.2 and 2.0-litre EA 189 engines it’s a simple software tweak; the 1.6-litre diesels require a hardware solution.
In the US, VW has reached a $15billion (£11.3bn) deal with US owners to buy back affected vehicles and compensate owners. There are no similar plans for UK owners, although VW is still facing pressure from the EU Commission to put something in place.
The scandal isn’t over yet, either, as veteran VW engineer James Liang pleaded guilty this month to US federal charges for his role and faces five years in prison. The lawsuit opens the door for further criminal prosecution in the coming months.
“Earlier in the year, VW announced Strategy 2025 to launch 30 new electric cars over the next decade”
AT Volkswagen’s conference in Wolfsburg, a slide was flashed up indicating where the brand’s range of new EVS would sit against rivals. A minimum electric range of 400km (248 miles) appears to be the target for A and B-segment models – city cars and superminis – while the ‘scalable’ range tops out at 600km (372 miles).
VW also confirmed EVS would be developed for “big growing segments”, indicating that the 600km range is likely to be reserved for SUVS which can accommodate the larger battery. Sales chief Jürgen Stackmann said: “Paris will open a new chapter for the brand. We’re focusing on leveraging this major step in [EV] tech.”