VW's ambitious plans: EUR 60 billion for further investments

A foregone conclusion. The Supervisory Board approved the plans according to which the company is to allocate EUR 60 billion in the next five years for investments related to electromobility, digitization and hybridization. - We are continuing the transformation of the Volkswagen Group with full determination, focusing investments on issues important from the point of view of future mobility. In this way, we consistently implement the strategy of the group - said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group, Hans Dieter Pötsch.

- We will accelerate investments in the coming years. Hybridization, electrification and digitization of our cars will play an increasingly important role in them. We want to use the effects of scale and synergy. In conditions of uncertain economic conditions, we are simultaneously working on increasing productivity, efficiency and cost optimization to achieve the goals - said Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen.

Increased production and expansion of factories
During this meeting, plans related to the number of models the company intends to produce by 2029 were also modified. The management of the concern assumes that by that time up to 75 vehicles equipped solely with electric drive and 60 hybrid models will appear on the market. Thus, the number of electric cars produced will increase to around 26 million.

The plans are ambitious. It is not surprising that information about planned investments related to the expansion of current VW factories. An example is the existing plant in Chattanooga, which in 2022 will become the place of production of Volkswagen electric cars for sale on North American markets. In addition, a battery assembly line is to be built in Chattanooga. The company will allocate 800 million dollars for the construction of an electric car production line based on the modular MEB platform and will employ an additional 1,000 people. Production is expected to start in 2022, and the first model created here will be the ID family SUV. Thus, from 2022, cars constructed on the basis of the MEB platform specially developed for the needs of electric cars will be manufactured in eight factories on three continents (the other two will operate in Germany and China).

The Glass Manufacture in Dresden will also be expanded. This facility will become the Center of Future Mobility, where innovative technologies will be developed and tested together with industry partners and start-ups. New areas of activity will be introduced, e.g. a test station under practical conditions will be created. The number of cars issued to customers is expected to increase significantly, the function of Dresden will also be strengthened after Zwickau, the second production site for ID.3 in Germany. In autumn 2020, the first copies of cars constructed based on the modular MEB platform will eat from the tapes of the local factory. Later, the assembly of other models from the ID family can also be started.