Ready for Future – Volkswagen‘s Way to Zero

Authors

Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Ulbrich, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand responsible for Technical Development, Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg:

Year

2022

Print Info

Production/Publication ÖVK

Summary

Volkswagen is the first large automobile group to commit to the Paris climate protection agreement's goals – and aims to be CO₂-neutral by 2050. This transformation is based on "4 Forces": electrification, software-based products, new business models, and autonomous driving.

The transformation began in 2017 with the start of developing the MEB (modular electric drive matrix) – the first highly industrialized electric platform for large quantities in the volume segment. Ten models from four Group brands are already based on it. New models, such as our iconic ID. Buzz, will follow this year. They are manufactured globally, currently in Germany, the Czech Republic, and together with our joint venture partners in China. Production at two other German sites and in the U.S. will start later this year. In Germany, Volkswagen is the market leader in electromobility, and in Europe, the catch-up race has already brought us to second place. The European Green Deal will further accelerate BEV volumes. Volkswagen plans for around 70 percent of sales in the EU to be electric by 2030 and, according to current plans, about 50 percent in the U.S. and China. These figures show that Volkswagen's "Way to Zero" has put it at the forefront of the automotive industry regarding a concrete direction toward CO₂-neutrality. However, the figures also show that Volkswagen will continue to offer vehicles with combustion engines beyond 2030. A concrete end date will be defined by market and customer needs. Until then, Volkswagen is working on improving its combustion engines with a view to increasingly strict emission regulations. And also, the plug-in hybrids will take a major evolutionary step in the near future. With a new gasoline engine and electric ranges of around 100 kilometers, they will not only be more efficient but also largely electric in everyday driving.

ISBN

1920-2323-23-1

Number of pages

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