The world’s largest carmaker, Volkswagen, has pledged to electrify its entire range of cars by 2030.
Announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the company said it would be doubling its investment in zero-emissions vehicles.
The Volkswagen Group actually contains some 12 car manufacturers including Audi, Bentley, Seat and Lamborghini.
That means that by 2030 the company plans to offer an electric or hybrid version of over 300 different car models.
It’s potentially a huge undertaking and one that will require a spectacularly large amount of money invested in it. In fact VW confirmed to the BBC that it would spending a staggering 50bn euros on battery orders to power the cars.
Volkswagen’s decision to embrace electric vehicles is a significant one, not least because of the diesel emissions scandal that rocked the company in 2015.
It’s a decision that forms part of a much larger trend pushed both by governments as they look to reduce the air pollution in cities, and car companies that realise customers are looking for cleaner, more efficient vehicles.
Volvo led the charge in July when it announced that it would only sell cars that were either hybrid or fully electric by 2019.
This was then followed by Jaguar Land Rover which confirmed it too would be offering hybrid or fully electric versions of all its cars by 2020.
Mercedes Benz then announced this week that it would be launching fully electric or hybrid versions of all its cars by 2022.
While Volkswagen’s deadline is the latest of these at 2030 it makes sense that the world’s largest car manufacturer is moving at a slower pace to its competition.
The company recently unveiled a brand-new electric version of the iconic Camper Van that it said would be on sale by 2022.