Photo: Volkswagen
The Volkswagen Group may have tilted the already skewed balance between liquid hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and battery-powered electric vehicles in favor of the latter by announcing a massive investment for its emerging I.D. brand.
It will be years until the Volkswagen name will stop being immediately associated with the Dieselgate scandal, and the company's management has identified a switch to electric vehicles as the best way to hurry the process. Matthias Mueller, the post-Dieselgate CEO of Volkswagen was a supporter of this idea, but not everyone seemed to share his views.
Now, though, with the I.D. Crozz II Concept being the star of the Volkswagen booth at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it seems there is no way back for the Germans. They have long announced a huge number of new electric models by 2025, and if the planned investments actually happen, it sounds like they should have no problems pulling this off.
In a talk with BBC ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show debut, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller revealed the giant carmaker's intentions to double the initial investment in EVs worth €10 billion (almost $12 billion), while also placing orders of over €50 billion ($60 billion) for the batteries needed to power those vehicles.
The CEO didn't make it clear whether Volkswagen would be buying batteries from one of the established suppliers (Panasonic, LG Chem, Samsung SDI) or would enlist their help for building its own factory, much like Tesla is doing with Panasonic.
But while all electric concepts presented by the VW Group's brands in Frankfurt are great (the Audi Aicon, the Skoda Vision E or the Volkswagen Crozz II), the manufacturer won't find it easy to erase the past.
The CEO told BBC that the company had "got the message" adding that the "customers want clean vehicles. People want to have clean air, and we want to make our contribution here." Did VW really not realize all that when it was selling diesel cars with fake emission readings?
Does the German company actually think we're stupid enough to imagine it does whatever it does for any other purpose than survival and profit? At the same time, you have to feel for Mr. Mueller: it's not like there's anything he can say to make it better. The best course of action is to continue down the electrification path, and it seems that's just what Volkswagen will do.
Now, though, with the I.D. Crozz II Concept being the star of the Volkswagen booth at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it seems there is no way back for the Germans. They have long announced a huge number of new electric models by 2025, and if the planned investments actually happen, it sounds like they should have no problems pulling this off.
In a talk with BBC ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show debut, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller revealed the giant carmaker's intentions to double the initial investment in EVs worth €10 billion (almost $12 billion), while also placing orders of over €50 billion ($60 billion) for the batteries needed to power those vehicles.
The CEO didn't make it clear whether Volkswagen would be buying batteries from one of the established suppliers (Panasonic, LG Chem, Samsung SDI) or would enlist their help for building its own factory, much like Tesla is doing with Panasonic.
But while all electric concepts presented by the VW Group's brands in Frankfurt are great (the Audi Aicon, the Skoda Vision E or the Volkswagen Crozz II), the manufacturer won't find it easy to erase the past.
The CEO told BBC that the company had "got the message" adding that the "customers want clean vehicles. People want to have clean air, and we want to make our contribution here." Did VW really not realize all that when it was selling diesel cars with fake emission readings?
Does the German company actually think we're stupid enough to imagine it does whatever it does for any other purpose than survival and profit? At the same time, you have to feel for Mr. Mueller: it's not like there's anything he can say to make it better. The best course of action is to continue down the electrification path, and it seems that's just what Volkswagen will do.
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