VW ditching ICE, considers Ford’s US factories

Volkswagen AG says it will roll out the last generation of conventional cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) in 2026.

It’s also indicated some cars may be made jointly with Ford in US factories.

VW’s strategy head Michael Jost told an industry conference in Germany on December 4 VW is working on the last platform for vehicles that aren’t carbon dioxide neutral, phasing out ICE engines.

He says it’s possible, though, that after 2050 some limited petrol and diesel models may still be in regions where charging infrastructure is deficient.

That means all future VWs will have an electric motor as part of the drivetrain, which could see a mix of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fully electric and fuel cell vehicles, CleanTechnica reports.

VW’s North American operations head Scott Keogh told media VW is well into investigating an electric car plant in North America. It already has a manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

A new electric vehicle coming on the US market, probably the ID Crozz, will go into production in 2020.

Executives from VW, BMW, and Mercedes met at the White House recently during which they were “encouraged” to build more of their vehicles in the US or face increased tariffs on the cars they import.

Following the meeting, VW chief executive officer Herbert Diess told media; “The president has a point in trying to convince us to invest more into America, and we are prepared to invest more. We might use Ford capacity here in the US to build cars for us.”

Ford is reducing passenger car making in America and has excess capacity available in its US factories.

USA Today reports Morgan Stanley expects Ford will cut up to 25,000 jobs in coming months. Some of those job losses could be alleviated by making vehicles for VW, CleanTechnica says.

VW has committed US$50 billion during the next five years on a move to electric and autonomous vehicles.

The first wave is expected next year, with a rollout across VW’s stable of 12 automotive brands likely to comprise about 15 million vehicles, Bloomberg

reports.

VW plans to launch fully or partly electric versions across its line-up of more than 300 cars, vans, trucks and motorbikes by 2030.