(Frankfurt) The Volkswagen brand announced Thursday it will invest 19 billion euros (28 billion Canadian dollars) in the car of the future by 2024, of which 11 billion (16 billion Canadian dollars) will go to the electrification of its models, to finally turn the page on "dieselgate".

FRANCE MEDIA AGENCY

Within the automotive group, which includes 12 brands, its flagship brand Volkswagen itself wants to sell a million electrically powered cars by 2025. The group also includes Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti and seven other brands, including most are included in electrification.

PHOTO LUCY NICHOLSON, REUTERS

The ID Space Vizzio electric prototype, shown by Volkswagen at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 20, 2019.,

While the strict European standards of CO 2 emissions will come into force in 2020, the manufacturer of the Golf wants to launch next year 8 electric or hybrid vehicles, among 34 new models presented.

 

New family of electric cars

For this, he created the “ID” family of electric models, the first model of which, the compact ID.3, will be launched in summer 2020 in Germany, then a little later in the rest of the European market, says Volks in a communicated.

PHOTO INA FASSBENDER, AFP

The ID R Pikes Peak electric racing car, shown by Volkswagen at the Essen Motor Show in western Germany, November 29, 2019.

Should follow "shortly after" the marketing of the ID Next, its first electric SUV still in the prototype stage, says VW.

The manufacturer will produce the ID family on a modular platform, dubbed "MEB", which is intended to be deployed in Europe, China and the United States.

It also wants to increase the share of software developed in-house for the car or connected services to 60% by 2025, against less than 10% currently.

PHOTO RONNY HARTMANN, AFP

The interior of an all-electric ID.3 recently assembled at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, eastern Germany. This former factory which once assembled the infamous East German compact Trabant has been modernized and now assembles electric vehicles.

The Volkswagen brand also confirmed Thursday aiming for an operational profitability between 4 and 5% for the year 2019, and aims to bring it to 6% by 2022.

In all, the Volkswagen group wants to invest a total of 60 billion euros (87.5 billion Canadian dollars) in the car of the future by 2024, he announced in November.

For the Wolfsburg brand in particular, the electric shift is also the hope of finally turning the page on the “dieselgate”, more than four years after the outbreak of the biggest industrial scandal in post-war Germany which cost the group more than 30 billion euros (43.8 billion Canadian dollars).

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