Volkswagen plans to invest 180 billion euros (about $192 billion) in the development of electric vehicles and new technologies for its cars.
The CEO of the company, Oliver Blume, said this Tuesday, March 14, at one of the plants in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The investment (of an unprecedented amount for the firm, and even for the sector) will be deployed over the next five years.
VW’s idea is target china (a region where it has serious difficulties) and to the United Stateswhere it could never be affirmed.
The move is Blume’s first major strategic announcement since he took control of Volkswagen in September 2022 after the board ousted his predecessor, Herbert Diess.
With this impressive injection of funds, Blume “a spending war with the other car manufacturers is starting”says The Wall Street Journal.
Chief among those rivals is Tesla, which has long been stealing market share from VW, especially in China, the world’s biggest buyer of electric cars.
Volkswagen has lost market share in China not only to Tesla, but also to local manufacturers such as BYD.
In the United States, VW is under pressure from US politicians as a result of the scandal of the Dieselgate that ruined the reputation of the brand.
Volkswagen Dieselgate: the scandal that changed the brand
The VW diesel emissions scandal was one of the biggest corporate crises in decades.
The revelation that the German manufacturer had been cheating on emissions tests shocked the world and shook the confidence of millions of consumers in the brand.
It all came to light in the United States, in 2015, when the Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of using software in its diesel vehicles that allowed them to cheat on emissions tests.
The software was designed to detect when the car was being tested and activate the emission control system, thereby reducing the amount of pollutants emitted.
However, under normal driving conditions, the emission control system would shut down, allowing cars to emit up to 40 times more nitrogen oxide than the legal limit.
The scandal was first uncovered by researchers at West Virginia University, who found discrepancies in the emissions of VW cars during road tests.
Subsequent investigations revealed that more than 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide were equipped with the defeat device software.
The scandal was a blow to the VW brand. The company was forced to recall millions of vehicles, pay billions in fines and compensation, and face a wave of negative publicity.
VW’s reputation for engineering excellence was damaged, and sales of the brand plummeted in many markets.
Now read:
McDonald’s Launches Wednesday Addams-Inspired Campaign; Barcelona with a new textile supplier
Grupo Bimbo arrives in Romania; Pinterest opens offices in CDMX
Anonymous is the new digital strategy agency for Volkswagen, SEAT and CUPRA
