VW scaling up EV production

A new electric vehicle “virtually every month” is coming from the Volkswagen Group after next year.

It’s expanding EV production worldwide on a “massive scale,” Volkswagen AG chief executive officer Matthias Muller says.

Within about four years VW intends having 16 EV production sites under its “Roadmap E” electric vision. It currently produces EVs at three sites and will have nine more plants in two years.

VW has partnerships agreed with battery manufacturers for Europe and China to ensure adequate battery capacity, with a supplier decision expected shortly for North America.

“Over the last few months, we have pulled out all the stops to implement ‘Roadmap E’ with the necessary speed and determination,” Muller says.

When Roadmap E was launched, Volkswagen announced plans to build up to three million EVs annually by 2025 and market 80 new electric group models.

New innovations presented at the recent Geneva International Motor Show included the Audi e-tron, the Porsche Mission E and the I.D. Vizzion, another member of the Volkswagen I.D. family.

Muller says Volkswagen is not turning its back on conventional drive systems.

“We are making massive investments in the mobility of tomorrow, but without neglecting current technologies and vehicles that will continue to play an important role for decades to come.”

The realignment is already paying dividends throughout the group. “We are financially robust and strategically well-positioned,” Muller says.

“Things are really moving. And we have plans for much more.”