The CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, said on Monday evening: “We are in the process of reinventing Europe’s largest automaker, laying the technological, economic and structural foundations.”
The Group Chairman announced there would be 20 more electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2020 – from compact cars to the next Phaeton and Audi A8: “No commitment to electro-mobility can be any clearer than that.”
“Our Group already has the largest connected vehicle fleet on the road. By 2020 we will have transformed all of our new cars into smartphones on wheels.”
According to Winterkorn: “At a time of major social and technological upheaval, people expect new answers, new solutions and new directions from us.” Volkswagen was facing up to these challenges, he said, for example as regards electro-mobility, and was showcasing this at the IAA. “The Porsche Mission E and the Audi e-tron quattro concept are nothing less than aquantum leap for our industry.” Both vehicles have an all-electric range of 500kilometers. He went on to say that the “new Volkswagen Tiguan GTE embodies “our determination to systematically take the plug-in hybrid to further classes and segments.” The Group was also showcasing forward-looking concepts and technologies for charging electric cars such as “V-Charge” (Volkswagen) and “Turbo Charging” (Porsche).
Calling on policymakers Winterkorn said: “We have the right cars. Now what is needed is the right framework for this key technology to really catch on.”