Volkswagen CEO "Increasing Electric Vehicle Production in the U.S."

"Half of New Car Sales to Be Electric Vehicles by 2030"

Photo by Reuters

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen, stated in an interview with Bloomberg on the 13th (local time) that the company plans to significantly increase electric vehicle production in the United States.

As part of this, starting early next year, Volkswagen will begin production of its first pure electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) model, the ID.4, at its Chattanooga plant in Tennessee.

He mentioned that market expansion policies are being supported, such as U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement to invest $174 billion (approximately 197 trillion KRW) in expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure to facilitate the paradigm shift to electric vehicles.

He emphasized, "We have gained a historic opportunity to increase our market share in the U.S., which has lagged behind China and Europe."

Electrify America, established by Volkswagen for electric vehicle charging business in the U.S., plans to more than double the number of charging facilities in the U.S. and Canada within the next four years.

Previously, Electrify America announced that as of the end of last month, its sales performance in the U.S. this year reached 211,000 units, the highest record since 1973.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen also announced a goal to have half of its new car sales be electric vehicles by 2030.

Volkswagen revealed this through its 2030 strategy, released a day before the European Union (EU) announced its large-scale environmental policy.

Volkswagen, the largest automaker in Europe and the world's second largest after Toyota Motor Corporation, had set a goal to surpass Tesla and become the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer by 2025, but last year, electric vehicle sales accounted for only 3% of its total sales.

Volkswagen also stated plans to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint per vehicle by 30% compared to 2018 levels by 2030.

It added that by 2040, nearly all cars sold in major markets will be carbon neutral.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.