First carbon-neutral EV life cycle?

Volkswagen Group says the new ID. electric vehicle which will be produced in 2020 will be the first car to be C02 neutral through the entire lifecycle, if consistently recharged with green power.

The German manufacturer is working on a comprehensive decarbonisation programme for its production facilities. The ID. manufacturing phase in the Zwickau plant will be improved more than 1 million tons of CO2 per year.

This is roughly the climate impact of a coal-fired power plant that supplies 300,000 households with electricity.

Volkswagen brand management board member for e-mobility Thomas Ulbrich says the new ID. will be the Group’s first climate-neutrally produced electric car.

To ensure that it remains emission free during its life cycle, we are working on many different ways to use green power. Truly sustainable mobility is feasible if we all want it and we all work on it,” says Ulbrich.

For the ID., Volkswagen has focused the entire value chain on the goal of avoiding and reducing CO2 emission. The battery cells will be produced in Europe, the energy will come from green power sources.
More savings potential in the supply chain that extends all the way back to raw material production is being examined with the help of direct and indirect suppliers.

The Zwickau plant is already using externally produced power from renewable sources. Unavoidable emissions in the manufacturing process are offset by investments in certified climate projects.

For charging, Volkswagen recommends the use of energy from renewable sources like wind power and hydro-power. The new Volkswagen subsidiary Elli has recently begun to offer regeneratively produced electricity called Volkswagen Naturstrom®.

The Ionity fast-charging network created by Volkswagen and other car manufacturers will offer green power at about 400 charging locations on European motorways – wherever available.

Volkswagen wants to make the electric car attractive and affordable for as many people as possible. The compact ID. will roll off the assembly line in Zwickau starting in late 2019. The ID. Cross SUV, the ID. Buzz and the ID. Vizzion sedan will follow soon thereafter.

The Volkswagen brand alone plans to invest about 9 billion Euro in e-mobility by 2023.