Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer is happy that the internal combustion engine can keep the brand going when the electric cars fail.
Volkswagen is not in quite as much of a hurry to get away from the internal combustion engine as the Germans have suggested.
The brand from Wolfsburg doesn't just take 500 billion from a pool that would otherwise be spent on electric cars; the money is used directly on fossil-fuel cars. Read more about it here .
– We are in the fortunate situation that we can offer completely new combustion engine models such as the Passat and Tiguan or, from next year, the new T-Roc, says managing director Thomas Schäfer to Automobilwoche .
The announcement comes after a month of May in which Volkswagen has had to see its sales of electric cars melt down in the home market in Germany. Europe's largest car market also generally turns its back on new electric cars when you look at the raw numbers.
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Out at the dealers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell the electric cars, for which the Germans have not been able to get government support since December last year. Already in January, sales of electric cars fell by 55 percent compared to the same month in 2023.
And sales have actually only gone one way ever since. Conversely, both the pure diesel and petrol cars as well as the hybrids are gaining market share at that expense.
At the same time, Volkswagen now recognizes that it is necessary to keep especially the plug-in hybrids alive in the model range. It has even come to the rear of the brand that it is the plug-in hybrids that are currently popular with buyers. Read more about it here.
In the rest of the world, Volkswagen, which with dieselgate is attributed with the major part of the internal combustion engine's disgrace, also still wants to get rid of diesel and petrol in particular.
– With a suitable product range, long range and optimized charging infrastructure, sooner or later people will decide on their own to buy an electric car. As an industry and company, we do everything we can to make e-mobility become widespread, says Thomas Schäfer to the media.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here!
