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Volkswagen plans 22 million electric vehicles in ten years
Almost 70 new electric models by 2028 – instead of the 50 previously planned- Comprehensive decarbonization program for the Volkswagen Group signed off
- Volkswagen Group targeting fully CO2-neutral balance by 2050
- Diess: “Volkswagen will change radically. We are taking on responsibility with regard to the key trends of the future – particularly in connection with climate protection.”
The Volkswagen Group is forging ahead with the fundamental change of system in individual mobility and systematically aligning with electric drives. The Group is planning to launch almost 70 new electric models in the next ten years – instead of the 50 previously planned. As a result, the projected number of vehicles to be built on the Group’s electric platforms in the next decade will increase from 15 million to 22 million. Expanding e-mobility is an important building block on the road to a CO2-neutral balance. Volkswagen has signed off a comprehensive decarbonization program aimed at achieving a fully CO2-neutral balance in all areas from fleet to production to administration by 2050. Volkswagen is thus fully committed to the Paris climate targets.
Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG, said: “Volkswagen is taking on responsibility with regard to the key trends of the future – particularly in connection with climate protection. The targets of the Paris Agreement are our yardstick. We will be systematically aligning production and other stages in the value chain to CO2 neutrality in the coming years. That is how we will be making our contribution towards limiting global warming. Volkswagen is seeking to provide individual mobility for millions of people for years to come – individual mobility that is safer, cleaner and fully connected. In order to shoulder the investments needed for the electric offensive we must make further improvements in efficiency and performance in all areas.”
The Volkswagen Group has set milestones in all areas to be achieved in the coming years on the road to complete decarbonization by 2050. The measures follow three principles: first, effective and sustainable CO2 reduction. Second, switch to renewable energy sources for power supply. Third, compensate for remaining emissions that cannot be avoided. In order to improve the CO2 balance of vehicles throughout their lifecycle, for example, Volkswagen has already made a start on the supply chain. A detailed roadmap is currently being drawn up. There is particularly significant potential as regards steel and aluminum supplies.
The 2025 target is to reduce the CO2 footprint of the vehicle fleet by 30 percent across the lifecycle compared to 2015. Volkswagen is therefore electrifying the vehicle portfolio, with investment in this area alone amounting to more than €30 billion by 2023. The share of electric vehicles in the Group fleet is to rise to at least 40 percent by 2030. The first of the new-generation electric vehicles go into production this year: the AUDI e-tron will be followed by the Porsche Taycan. Reservations for each of these models already total 20,000 units. And electric vehicles will be brought into the mainstream with the ramp up of the Volkswagen ID. Other models in this first wave will be the ID. CROZZ, the SEAT el-born, the ŠKODA Vision E, the ID. BUZZ , and the ID. VIZZION.
In order to support the electric offensive, LG Chem, SKI, CATL and Samsung were selected as strategic battery cell suppliers. In view of the constantly increasing demand, Volkswagen is also taking a close look at possible participation in battery cell manufacturing facilities in Europe. Looking further ahead, solid-state batteries also have great potential. The goal is to enable an industrial level of production with this technology together with our partner QuantumScape.
At the same time, CO2 emissions at all plants are to be cut 50 percent by 2025 compared with 2010. The conversion of the power station in Wolfsburg from coal to gas will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5 million tonnes annually from 2023 onwards. Audi’s production activities at the Brussels site, for example, are already completely CO2-neutral. The Zwickau plant will not only be the lead factory for the Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB); the ID. built there will be delivered to customers with a CO2-neutral balance.
The MEB lies at the heart of Volkswagen’s electric offensive. The cost of e-mobility can be significantly lowered through partnerships to enable the widest possible spread of the MEB and the associated economies of scale. That makes individual mobility affordable and usable for the mainstream in the future as well. One example of such a partnership is the planned cooperation with Aachen-based e.GO Mobile AG recently announced at the Geneva International Motor Show.
To boost e-mobility further, we will be installing 400 fast-charging stations along Europe’s major roads and highways by 2020 in collaboration with industry partners in IONITY. 100 of these will be located in Germany. That means there will be a station every 120 kilometers. Elli (Electric Life), Volkswagen’s new subsidiary, will also offer wallboxes for charging at home, using green power – initially in Germany. In addition, there will be 3,500 charging points on employee car parks at all plants with further charging opportunities at dealerships.
VW and Ford forge partnership to spur low-carbon transport transition via edie.net
The rapid emergence of electric vehicles (EVs) and related autonomous driving technologies and mobility services is disrupting the global auto industry in ways that would have been unthinkable just five years ago.
Carmakers Ford and Volkswagen (VW) have forged a new low-carbon road transport partnership, which will see them work together to develop electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean technologies.
Unveiled on Tuesday (15 January), the collaborative agreement will initially see the two firms jointly develop a range of commercial vans and medium-sized pickup trucks, which will be launched across all of Ford and VW’s global markets in 2022.
Ford estimates that by collaborating on the development, manufacture and launch of these vehicles, the two companies will collectively save $500m (£387m) per year, starting in 2023.
Looking to the long-term, the agreement signed by Ford and VW also includes a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that the two companies will “investigate collaboration on autonomous vehicles, mobility services and further EVs”. The carmakers have both started to explore opportunities in these three fields on a standalone basis.
“Over time, this alliance will help both companies create value and meet the needs of our customers and society,” Ford’s chief executive Jim Hackett said.
“It will not only drive significant efficiencies and help both companies improve their fitness, but also gives us the opportunity to collaborate on shaping the next era of mobility.”
VW’s chief executive Herbert Diess echoed these sentiments, adding that the partnership would enable both companies to “harness [their] collective resources, innovation capabilities and complementary market positions to even better serve millions of customers around the world”.
Both VW and Ford have stressed that the alliance will not involve any “cross-ownership” of product lines in the future. Funding made jointly will instead be funnelled into infrastructure and efficiency projects.
Charging ahead
The announcement is the latest in a string of EV-related success stories for VW Group, which last week launched a new company focusing on EV charging solutions and renewable energy offerings.
Called the Elli Group, the new venture will be headquartered in Berlin and will develop and deliver products that assist the emergence and growth of the EV market, such as energy storage devices, charging points and ‘smart’ energy management systems.
VW has additionally confirmed this month that it will invest $800m in the expansion of its manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to install EV production lines at the facility.
The first EVs to be made at the plant will be ID CROZZ SUVs, which are fully-electric and will be launched in 2022. The model is one of 20 fully-electric vehicles which VW has committed to launching by 2030 as part of its EV strategy.
Ford, meanwhile, has pledged to bring 16 new fully-electric and 24 hybrid models to market by 2025 as part of its $11bn low-carbon transport plan. Launched in 2017, the first move detailed in the plan is for Ford to bring a fully-electric SUV to market in 2020.
Volvo EV technology investment
The news also comes as the venture capital arm of Volvo Group announced it has invested an undisclosed sum in Momentum Dynamics, a start-up focused on the wireless charging for EVs.
The Philadelphia-based company specialises in developing and commercialising high power inductive charging for the automotive and transportation industries.
“Momentum Dynamics’ technology and competence within inductive bi-directional transmission of electrical energy and information safely through air, water and ice will fit the harsh conditions under which our customers operate,” said Per Adamsson, Vice President at Volvo Group Venture Capital. “High capacity charging up to 300kW for trucks, buses, construction equipment, industrial and marine applications will support the electrified transition.”
Financial details of the investment were not disclosed, although Volvo said “the transaction has no significant impact on the Volvo Group’s earnings or financial position”.
Advocates of wireless charging argue that it could streamline charging for EVs, making it easier for drivers to top up batteries opportunistically through car parks or even roads that feature embedded wireless charging systems.
“For Volvo Group we are strengthening our competence and knowledge of charging and electricity distribution within the ecosystem around electric transportation and energy supply,” he said. “We see partnership, cooperation and investments as the way forward in a fast-changing environment.”
Forbes: Volkswagen to Invest $800 Million To Build Electric SUVs In Tennessee
Volkswagen has been talking up plans to shake up the global electric vehicle market for a while, and it’s now starting to make good on that ambition with an $800 million (700 million euro) project to build battery-powered crossovers in Tennessee.
The German auto giant said at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday that it will build a new assembly line at its Chattanooga plant to build ID. Crozz SUVs starting in 2022, using its “MEB” modular electric vehicle system. The project will create up to 1,000 new jobs at the plant, in addition to new jobs at suppliers, Volkswagen said.
“The U.S. is one of the most important locations for us and producing electric cars in Chattanooga is a key part of our growth strategy in North America,” CEO Herbert Diess said in a statement. “Together with our ongoing investments and this increase in local production, we are strengthening the foundation for sustainable growth of the Volkswagen brand in the U.S.”
The company has worked to overhaul its U.S. image after a costly diesel emissions scandal and management turnover, deploying billions of dollars to accelerate its electric vehicle offerings and sell 1 million of them annually by 2025. Its Tennessee investment also means that state will be a battery-vehicle powerhouse, as Nissan already builds Leaf compacts there at its sprawling Smyrna plant.
“The shift toward electric vehicles is a trend that can be seen worldwide, and Volkswagen’s decision to locate its first North American EV manufacturing facility in Chattanooga underscores Tennessee’s manufacturing strength and highly-skilled workforce,” Governor Bill Haslam said in a statement. “As one of Hamilton County’s top employers, these additional 1,000 jobs will have a lasting impact on the region.”
In total, Volkswagen aims to set up eight MEB plants in the coming years in Europe and China as well as North America. In addition to building the ID. CROZZ in Chattanooga, Volkswagen said it plans to sell the ID. BUZZ minivan in North America, the 21st-century version of its of VW bus.
The carmaker starts making ID. cars at its Zwickau, Germany, plant late this year. It’s also setting up MEB lines at German facilities in Emden, Hanover and Dresden facilities and Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic. Electric products for China will come from Anting and Foshan plants, there Volkswagen said.
Total investment in electric vehicle technology is to reach 9 billion euros by 2023, the company said.
The Future Is bright, The future is Platinum
What was seen as a devastating blow by VW to the platinum market has suddenly become completely irrelevant to the metals future.
The price of platinum has risen 14% from its 7 year low of $893 at the beginning of October and all because Toyota is moving big style into hydrogen fuel cell cars, each of which needs an ounce of platinum as against a mere 2-4 grms for your average gasoline or diesel vehicle.
On the 16th October Toyota launched in Europe, home of the VW empire, its first first mass produced fuel cell car. Already the despair of only 2 or 3 weeks ago has disappeared and turned the market for platinum on its head.
Buy a fuel cell car in Japan and the Japanese government will give you $25,000, equal to 50% pf the cost of the car. Toyota is spending billions to try and reduce the amount of platinum needed by a fuel cell car but even if it reduces it by 50%, each car will still need 12-15 grms, double or triple the present amount per vehicle.
Because of VW’s ills,Toyota will quickly regain its crown as the worlds largest car maker in the very near future and Toyota sees its long term future in fuel cell powered vehicles.
The future for platinum lies not just in cars. By 2030 the Japanese government plans to install fuel cells into 10% of Japanese households, to replace grid electricity.
Other car manufacturers are bound to jump on the fuel cell bandwagon. Countries other than Japan are also bound to start using alternatives to “dirty” electricity.
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Is VW Germany’s Second Stalingrad ?
Germany built better armies, better motor cars, better this and better that, than any other country in the world. Its name had become a byword for quality, reliability and honesty until its major car manufacturer destroys those invaluable assets by being caught red handed in a massive fraud which not only has major financial consequences but has put at risk the health of millions of people by successfully masking for years, the true amount of pollution which VW diesel cars have been putting into the atmosphere.
The fines and compensation which will be heaped on VW, may well see its demise but the whole of German industry will also lose out because “made in Germany” has almost become a dirty word overnight. Which of their other manufacturers have been at it ? The one amazing thing is that VW got away with its plan to cheat on a massive scale. Now it has been caught It has given only a half hearted apology which indicates that it it is running scared of confessing its sins in full.
In order for the conspiracy to succeed, VW needed a whole department to design and manufacture the equipment, to purchase the required parts, to install it in the relevant vehicles, a project which would need its own budget. This was a major enterprise in its own right which could not have existed without close involvement and the knowledge and approval of those at the very heart of the company.
Even worse the German government knew of the fraud months ago and did absolutely nothing, albeit now, it has set up a low level enquiry.
The fraud became official VW policy and the project could not then be stopped without a countermanding order. The order was never given. There was no whistle blower, blowing whistles because that would have meant disobeying the original order approving the project. Germans do not disobey orders, they do not take the initiative without an order approving the initiative. There was no such order.
And that was how Germany lost the war – blinkers and refusal to act without the appropriate order
The sixth Army was the finest fighting force the world had ever seen. It laid siege to Stalingrad in the depths of a Russian winter but no order was ever issued for it to be supplied with winter clothing despite temperatures falling as low as minus 60C. Not surprisingly, (except to the German high command) the troops froze to death. Von Paulus never received an order to save his men, 300,000 of them, by breaking out of the Russian encirclement and heading for the relief column only 50 kilometres away. So he refused to take matters into his own hands and order the break out. He condemned his own army. In the end only 6,000 men out of the original 300,000 survived and returned to Germany.
Plus ca change.