Volkswagen targets North America electric vehicle offensive

Volkswagen is to bolster its expansion across the United States with a dedicated EV strategy that will see the manufacturer produce battery cells in the region.

Announcing the plans in the Group’s latest financial results, Volkswagen outlined its intentions to achieve the target of 10 percent market share by 2030 across North America.

Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) will be the central element of this strategy, with the Group’s BEV portfolio growing to more than 25 models by the end of the decade. Furthermore, the Group is targeting a dedicated battery cell production in the United States. Volkswagen just recently announced a USD 7.1 billion commitment to boost its BEV product line-up, R&D, and manufacturing in North America.

Volkswagen has maintained a high pace in its largest single market China accelerating digitisation and electrification. Volkswagen Anhui will be the Group’s new e-mobility hub, with the production of MEB based models starting in 2023. A battery system factory will also start production there next year. The Group has since dedicated investments of EUR 1 billion each to Anhui and Gotion.

Overall, Volkswagen Group posted strong financial results during the first quarter, despite a difficult global environment. The manufacturer saw sales revenue of EUR 62.7 billion (+0.6 percent) and a robust operating profit before special items of EUR 8.5 billion, resulting in an underlying operating profit of around EUR 5 billion lies significantly above the previous year.

“Our Group has shown great resilience again in the first quarter despite the unprecedented challenges the world faces due to the terrible war in Ukraine and the ongoing pandemic situation with its impact on supply chains,” said CEO Herbert Diess. “As a truly global company, we have extensive production capacities in all major growth and sales markets worldwide. Volkswagen’s global set up helped us to mitigate many of the adverse effects we are currently seeing. Even in a more polarised world, Volkswagen is firmly committed to expanding its global footprint, further driving its transformation into a sustainable and fully digital mobility provider.”