Volkswagen group plans to build 10 million e-cars in first wave

As it targets the launch of worldwide mass production toward the end of 2022


Reuters September 18, 2018
Herbert Diess, Volkswagen's new CEO, speaks next to a Volkswagen ID concept car at a media event ahead of the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing, China April 24, 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS

FRANKFURT: Volkswagen plans to build 10 million electric cars based on its new modular MEB platform, the German carmaker said on Monday, as it targets the launch of worldwide mass production toward the end of 2022.

VW will build 27 models for four group brands based on the MEB - or modular electrification kit - starting with the Volkswagen ID model that will begin rolling off the production line at its plant in Zwickau, Germany, late next year.

NASA prepares to fly probe into Sun's scorching atmosphere

After the diesel emissions scandal broke three years ago, VW unveiled an ambitious plan to become a world leader in green transport. It plans to invest 6 billion euros ($7 billion) in e-car production, of which 1.3 billion will be invested in its German plants at Braunschweig, Salzgitter, and Kassel.

“In the first wave alone, around 10 million VW group cars will be based on this platform,” the company’s head of electric mobility, Thomas Ulbrich, said in a presentation in Dresden.

The company did not give a timeline for the forecast but stood by its existing target of selling 3 million units per year by 2025 of the 50 battery-powered group models it plans.

Fresh delay in launch of NASA’s giant space telescope

Volkswagen, like other German automakers, is pushing into volume production of electric cars as US rival Tesla struggles to scale up manufacturing of its Model 3, its first car to target the mass market.

BMW and Daimler also plan to ramp up e-car output in the coming years.

The VW group, which includes the Skoda, SEAT, Audi, and Porsche brands, sold 10.7 million cars last year.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ