Volkswagen to Go Electric

The German auto giant Volkswagen intends to invest EUR 34 billion in new technologies over the next five years, outrunning Tesla, which is experiencing serious financial problems today, with the aim of becoming the new world leader in the field of electric vehicles.

“We are reinventing the car,” said VW CEO, Matthias Müller. “Most of the company's expenses from 2018 to 2022 will be for electric, hybrid models, as well as so-called robobooms”.

This almost doubles the previously planned funds. In September, the auto concern said that investment in electric vehicles would amount to EUR 20 billion until 2030. Today, this amount has risen to EUR 35 billion. As reported by Reuters, referring to the data received, VW is to extract additional funds, carrying out a developed program of economy of means, from an increase in sales of cars with petrol engines.

But like other automakers involved in the production of classic cars, VW is intensifying its focus on cleaner, greener and smarter vehicles of the future. The task is to overtake Tesla in this direction. And the reputation of the manufacturer of machines with practically zero emissions is especially important for a German enterprise, which is still experiencing the consequences of "dieselgate," a scandal associated with fake sensors mis-measuring the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on diesel vehicles.

Today, VW Group owns 12 brands, including Audi, Porsche and Skoda and a number of other cars that are very popular worldwide. This autumn, the company announced its intention to electrify its entire lineup by 2030, a total of 300 models.

Dimitri Dolaberidze