More voltage for VW

Volkswagen says it will have an electric version of all its 300 models by 2030.

It will double investment in zero-emission vehicles to NZ$33 billion, planning 80 new electric cars across the group by 2025, the BBC reports.

That follows Mercedes-Benz promising electric or hybrid versions of all its cars by 2022.

Volkswagen chief Matthias Mueller told the BBC at the IAA Cars 2017 Frankfurt auto show the firm has “got the message”.

“Customers want clean vehicles. People want to have clean air, and we want to make our contribution here.”

It will also place orders worth more than NZ$82.6b for batteries to power the cars.

VW is confident its petrol and diesel engines are now clean, Mueller told the BBC.

But he says it could not drop combustion engines completely yet because the EV infrastructure is not in place.

“There will be a coexistence between internal combustion engines and electric drive systems for a certain period – I can’t tell you how long that will be.”

VW earlier announced an electric version of the Kombi or microbus will be available around 2022, based on its I.D. Buzz concept vehicle.

BMW’s concept for the electric Mini will be unveiled at the show which runs from September 14-24, on sale in 2019.

The moves from VW, BMW, Mercedes and other carmakers come as an increasing number of countries announce plans to ban new diesel and petrol cars.

China signalled such a shift at the weekend, without setting a date.

The United Kingdom and France plan to ban new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2040, to help reduce pollution and carbon emissions.