• Volkswagen is speeding up its electrification schedule in Europe.
• The brand will sell only electric models as early as 2033 on the Old Continent.
• Worldwide, the company plans to introduce 10 new electric models by 2026.
Volkswagen is among of the automakers moving most aggressively with its transition to electrific mobility. In Europe, the company has already launched the I.D. 4 and the I.D. 3, and the promising I.D. Buzz is set to follow soon.
Now, the automaker’s top boss Thomas Schaefer has confirmed that VW is speeding up its schedule for transitioning to selling EVs and EVs only. Its new objectives include offering only electric vehicles in Europe from 2033. Previously, the target was 2035.
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Schaefer also explained that the company has a new production strategy that involves rethinking the use of its platforms. Essentially, Volkswagen will try to take advantage of economies of scale by producing different vehicles sharing the same basic architecture and design rather than assembling one model per plant. This strategy does not only concern the Volkswagen brand, but also other firms that are under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, including Audi, most notably. We can expect some lineup trimming across the company’s different brand lineup, in other words.
In the future, the Volkswagen Group will thus reduce the number of models offered by its different brands in order to achieve higher profit margins for Volkswagen, SEAT, Skoda and the commercial vehicle division.
The revised strategy will also lead to new models, of course. In all, 10 new EV models will be launched by 2026. It remains to be seen how many of those make it to North America. Note that the performance-oriented R division will focus exclusively on producing electric vehicles by the end of the decade.
