Volkswagen to Launch 10 New Electric Vehicle Models by 2026

Volkswagen 2023 Annual Media Conference
460 Million Euro Investment by 2025
80% Electric Vehicle Target for New Car Sales in Europe by 2030

Volkswagen is accelerating its electrification strategy. It plans to launch 10 new electric vehicles consecutively by 2026. At the same time, it aims to increase the proportion of electric vehicles among new cars sold in Europe to 80% by 2030.

On the 15th (local time), Volkswagen announced this electrification strategy at its annual media conference. Volkswagen will release a total of 10 new electric vehicles by 2026, including the affordable electric car ID.2all. Among them, the second-generation model of the compact electric SUV ID.3, the high-performance version ID.3 GTX, the mid-size electric van ID.Buzz Long Wheelbase, and the flagship electric sedan ID.7 will be launched soon.

The production system will also shift to focus on electric vehicles. Volkswagen's Emden plant will be transformed into an electric vehicle-only factory by this summer. This plant will produce the electric sedan ID.7 and the mid-size SUV ID.4. The Wolfsburg headquarters plant will also take over production of the second-generation ID.3 starting this fall.

Volkswagen will invest 460 million euros by 2025 to convert major global plants to electric vehicle production. Plants in Zwickau and Dresden have already completed the transition, and the Chattanooga plant in Tennessee, USA, has been producing the ID.4 since last year.

Once Volkswagen begins production of the ID.2, it will have a full electric vehicle lineup across all size segments. Through this, it plans to fill 80% of new car sales in Europe with pure electric vehicles by 2030. This is a 10 percentage point increase from the previous target of 70%. In North America, the goal is to achieve 55% by 2030.

Last year, Volkswagen Group sold 330,000 pure electric vehicles worldwide, an increase of more than 23% compared to the previous year. This year, with the acceleration of its electrification strategy, a significant increase in electric vehicle sales is expected. Currently, the waiting demand for Volkswagen’s electric vehicle brand ID series in Europe alone reaches 100,000 units.

Thomas Sch?fer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, said, "Volkswagen has successfully positioned itself optimally in this era of great transformation," adding, "We will systematically execute the brand’s plans without being shaken by the difficult economic situation."

Additionally, at the group level, Volkswagen will invest 180 billion euros over five years from 2023 to 2027 in regions and businesses with attractive investment opportunities. More than two-thirds of this will be used for electrification and digitalization projects.

Volkswagen is conducting the 'Trinity Project,' which produces electric vehicles based on the highly scalable SSP platform. Along with the launch of new electric vehicles, the establishment of new factories is also being discussed. On this day, Volkswagen emphasized both the establishment of new factories and production at existing plants, including Wolfsburg, for the new electric vehicles equipped with the SSP platform.

Regarding the Kaluga plant in Russia, which has been subject to withdrawal rumors, Volkswagen gave a fundamental response that it is working to resolve the issue. CEO Sch?fer said, "I cannot give a final answer here, but we are working at the group level to resolve the issues related to our business in Russia."