VW and the challenge of the affordable electric car
Volkswagen have stated that current prices for small cars using electric motors are untenable. For this reason, the car type will probably increasingly disappear from the manufacturer’s programs. In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of VW, Hans Dieter Pötsch, gives a further outlook on the mobile future at VW.
In general, the switch to electric propulsion will make the price of cars more expensive, which of course also raises the question of how people with low incomes can afford a car in the future. According to Pötsch, this is “[…] one of the points on which we ask ourselves whether all socially relevant aspects have been sufficiently taken into account when setting new CO2 limits”.
The EU’s plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new cars by 37.5 percent by 2030. At VW, the fleet average value is currently 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven and must be reduced to 95 grams by 2021. Subsequently, a value of less than 600 grams of CO2 is targeted in order to achieve the required reduction of 37.5 percent.
By 2022, all German plants are to be converted for the construction of electric vehicles. In addition, eight factories on three continents are to be operated to produce electric vehicles based on the new MEB platform (modular electrification system).
VW’s cheapest electric car
In November 2018, Tech News announced that VW was planning an electric car for less than 20,000 euros. Now it is clear that VW’s first electric car, the I.D, will be available from 30,000 euros upwards. It’s supposed to reach between 300 and 400 km before he needs to be recharged.
VW’s investments are currently going in various directions. With Ford, the company has found a cooperation partner with whom it would like to pool its resources in the two areas of autonomous driving and electric mobility. In addition, they have grabbed Volvo’s special unit for the Connected Car and want to use Diconium to find new solutions for charging electric cars.
Are you a fan of VW vehicles? How to you think the electric car market will develop?
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