VW boss says era of classic cars is over

Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess says the company need to make the transition to electric vehicles quicker.

Diess asked reporters, “the big question is: are we fast enough? If we continue at our current speed, it is going to be tough” before noting that Volkswagen could end up going the same way as Nokia if it goes too slowly.

Volkswagen and Volkswagen Group have increased its electric vehicle production targets and Diess is aiming to be the world’s number one electric automaker.

It also aims to shift from traditional vehicles to autonomous, self-driving and connected cars.

“The era of the classic carmakers is over,” Diess says.

Volkswagen is one of the carmarkers that are trying to keep up with technology as regulators tighten up emissions rules, forcing manufacturers to go low or zero-emission.

Diess singles out Tesla as an example of the kind of competition Volkswagen is up against.

“We have exactly one shot at securing our future. Let’s use it,” Diess adds.

The group is investing almost NZD$60 billion into electrification and new technologies like connected cars.