VW seeks to spark back to life as a leader in green transport
Troubled German car maker Volkswagen is seeking to put some road between it and the emissions scandal which has dogged it in recent months by setting out its stall as a leader in green transport.
In a significant repositioning the car giant will reduce its reliance on the diesel engines which have caused it so much bother to focus on 30 all-electric models in a mammoth investment drive costing tens of billions of euros.
Company bosses hope that the environmentally sound models will account for as much as a quarter of its annual sales by 2025, giving it a much needed growth platform as its sales slip behind European rivals.
Outlining the changed strategy Volkswagen chief executive Matthias Mueller said the business would now focus on "the most attractive and fastest-growing market segments".
He said: “Special emphasis will be place on e-mobility. The group is planning a broad-based initiative in this area: it intends to launch more than 30 purely battery-powered electric vehicles over the next ten years.”
To pay for this overhaul however Volkswagen will initiate a period of company-wide savings and cost cutting; including streamlining a components business which is currently spread across 26 plants.