The VW Group has announced what it calls 'the most comprehensive electrification initiative in the automotive industry' with the promise of 80 new electric vehicles launched by 2025 under its Roadmap E plans.

 

By 2030, Volkswagen will have electrified its entire portfolio, meaning there will be at least one electrified version of each of the group's 300+ models from across the group's brands.

 

With badges including VW, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, VW Commercial Vehicles, and MAN, it's quite a breadth of vehicles set to be offered as at least one electric technology. This means that the minimum level of electrification on offer will be a mild hybrid, with conventional hybrid, PHEV, and pure-EV also possible.

 

However, the VW Group is clearly prioritising plug-in vehicles, since its announcement says that, of the 80 new models promised by 2025, 50 will be pure-EVs, and 30 will be PHEVs.

 

The news comes after recent announcements from the likes of Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover stating that no new model will be launched without electrification beyond 2019 and 2020 respectively.

 

The VW Group's statement of 2030 might not sound as ambitious, but it must be remembered that the group is one of the largest automotive manufacturers on the planet, comprising of a dozen brands - rather than the one or two from the Swedish and British marques above.

 

The VW Group has recognised that battery supply will be crucial to its efforts, and has put out one of the largest procurement volumes in the industry's history. More than 50 billion euro's worth of batteries will be needed, since the group will require 150 gigawatt hours of capacity annually by 2025.

 

Estimates from VW's announcement at the Frankfurt Motor Show last night (Monday 11th September) state that around one in four new group vehicles could be a pure-EV by 2025, with forecasts putting sales at about three million units a year.

 

Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, said: "We have got the message and we will deliver. This is not some vague declaration of intent.

 

"It is a strong self-commitment which, from today, becomes the yardstick by which we measure our performance. The transformation in our industry is unstoppable. And we will lead that transformation."