Volkswagen has yet to launch the first EVs from its electric ID lineup, but the group is already making plans to boost the number of electric models it will offer in the next decade. This week, Volkswagen revealed that it has committed to produce 70 different EVs in the next 10 years, up from the 50 planned earlier. VW said that the projected number of vehicles for that time frame will go from 15 million to 22 million.
Wolfsburg is betting heavily on EVs, and in the past few months, it has committed more factories to EV production in the next few years, including a Passat-producing plant in Emden, Germany, and a Crafter van facility in Hannover, Germany. The group's first EVs from the new wave will land in the U.S. from its Audi and Porsche brands: First examples of the e-tron SUV will be delivered to customers next month, ahead of the rollout of additional Audi electric models including a smaller Q4 e-tron which debuted in near-production form at the Geneva motor show. The e-tron will be followed up by the Porsche Taycan, whose planned production Volkswagen has already had to boost in response to interest from customers.
EVs at the lower end of the price spectrum will come from Volkswagen's ID electric sub-brand starting next year, which will include a yet-unnamed Golf-size hatchback as well as a production version of the Tiguan-size ID Crozz SUV concept. A sedan dubbed ID Vizzion in concept form is expected a little later, by 2022, with VW giving its Porsche and Audi brands an early start on sedans. Eventually, the ID sub-brand will field a model in just about every segment including that of the minivan, with the return of the retro-styled ID Buzz.
"Volkswagen is taking on responsibility with regard to the key trends of the future, particularly in connection with climate protection," said Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG. "The targets of the Paris Agreement are our yardstick. We will be systematically aligning production and other stages in the value chain to CO2 neutrality in the coming years. That is how we will be making our contribution towards limiting global warming. Volkswagen is seeking to provide individual mobility for millions of people for years to come – individual mobility that is safer, cleaner and fully connected. In order to shoulder the investments needed for the electric offensive, we must make further improvements in efficiency and performance in all areas."
Other VW Automotive Group brands like Skoda and SEAT will also offer EVs of their own: SEAT showed off a near-production electric hatchback called el-Born in Geneva this month, a hatch whose platform will be shared with an ID-branded hatchback that will go on sale next year.
Still, even 50 models is a big number. The ID brand will account for a significant chunk of the models that VW plans to field in the next decade, but the greater challenge may lie in the creation of infrastructure to support such a large number of EVs that will hit the streets so soon. With the debut of just the Audi e-tron and the Porsche Taycan, the VW Group may not push available infrastructure all that far, but by the time six figures worth of EVs have been produced by VW — expected to happen relatively soon — a lot more charging infrastructure will be needed in the regions that will absorb those EVs. And that includes the U.S.
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