Volkswagen Has A Very Ambitious Production Target For Its Electric Vehicle Line

Volkswagen AG VWAGY is spelling out its electric vehicle offensive under which it plans to sell millions of vehicles in multiple world markets, including the United States and China.

What Happened: Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of the company’s ID brand, and Thomas Ulbrich, a board member responsible for e-mobility, gave the details in an interview released by Volkswagen on Thursday, first spotted by Electrek.

Brandstätter said the Germany-based auto giant has ambitions to lead the world market in e-mobility and is investing EUR 11 billion (about $13 billion) by 2024 to that end.

“We therefore expect the Volkswagen brand to produce a total of 1.5 million e-cars per year by 2025,” said Brandstätter.

The company’s latest electric SUV — the ID.4 — will account for 500,000 of those vehicles, the executive revealed. 

Ulbrich said the automaker is confident of success in the SUV segment as they are the most popular vehicles in the U.S. and China. He said such vehicles are garnering market shares in Europe and Germany as well. 

Why It Matters: The ID.4 is already in production in Germany. It will be made in the United States, beginning 2022, at Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Volkswagen claims the vehicle can cover a range of nearly 310 miles (500 kms).

The company's production targets, as shared by Brandstätter are significantly above the current EV production levels. For context, it took industry leader Tesla Inc TSLA 12 years from launching its first consumer car to manufacture 1 million EV units. In 2019, the Palo Alto-based company reported about 367,500 unit deliveries overall. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk got a preview of the ID range this month when he took an ID.3 vehicle for a test drive during his meeting with Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.

“I think, for a non-sporty car, it’s pretty good,” Musk retorted while driving the vehicle.

Price Action: Volkswagen OTC shares closed 0.35% lower at $18.42 on Thursday.

Photo courtesy: Volkswagen AG