Image credit: Jason Alden/Bloomberg News
Volkswagen's plans show that the company will not produce small electric vehicles for at least three more years, even as the company is investing €35 billion to become the world's largest manufacturer of battery-powered vehicles.
The Financial Times reviewed VW's product strategy, in which the company outlined plans to bring at least a dozen new models to market over the next five years, including a miniature EV. According to them, a mini-car will cost between 20,000 and 25,000 euros.
However, people familiar with the matter said to Financial Times that VW does not believe it can make the car profitable in a few years, so they have no plans to launch it now.
This position does not seem very reasonable because, in connection with the tightening of CO2 emission requirements—which are becoming adopted by more and more countries—the demand for EVs will only grow at an even faster pace. Most likely, VW just doesn't have the technology right now to make an affordable EV at a competitive price.
Despite the production of several electric models, the company will not be able to meet its 2020 emission targets due to its insufficient production volume. VW is still lagging far behind its competitors when it comes to overall sales of battery-powered vehicles, and will be forced to pay fines for violating strict EU emission targets. Delaying the launch of affordable EVs on the market will further worsen the general situation of the company.
By the time VW introduces electric vehicles to mass, Tesla will already be producing millions of EVs a year in its four plants. Therefore, VW's plan to become the world leader in the manufacturing and sale of battery-powered vehicles, with such delays in introducing new models, is doomed to failure.
H/T @PorchesterW/Twitter
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
