[RahulNagaraj]

Last year, Volkswagen announced that it had set aside 180 billion euros for the development of next-generation EVs. The auto giant had estimated that by the end of the decade, EVs would account for 80% of their annual sales.

However, one year later, Volkswagen seems to have changed its stand slightly. As confirmed by Arno Antlitz, CFO & COO of Volkswagen Group, the company will now use one-third of its EV budget to continue the development of its combustion engines. Antlitz stated that the VW Group would spend roughly 60 billion euros to keep its combustion cars competitive.



He further added, "The future is electric, but the past is not over. It is a third, and it will stay a third."

Volkswagen, though, isn't the first carmaker to roll back on its EV plans. Other companies, including Mercedes-Benz, retreated to its ICE vehicle amidst the slowdown in EV sales, which tanked by 9% in the first quarter this year.

Volkswagen Group-owned supercar brand Lamborghini is also working on ways to keep its iconic V12 combustion engine alive for the foreseeable future. The Italian brand is looking at synthetic fuels to help power its ICE vehicles.

Source: AutomotiveNews Europe

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[ashivas89]

Timing is impeccable.

I know talking politics is taboo here. But one cant help but correlate the shift in the political landscape in the EU (right wingers gaining= favoring conventional industry+ potential relaxation of environmental regulations) with auto makers hedging their bets. It is impressive how some manufacturers saw this coming earlier still.

EDIT: I do not necessarily celebrate this development. I am just making an observation as to how manufacturers are having to change their clean and green stance (virtue signaling?) to face reality.

[dj96]

Toyota predicted it perfectly. Despite the carrot and stick policies of various governments EVs were only bought for tax exemption purposes or to meet company fleet quotas. We must remember that all the technological advances of the past have been people driven, not government driven. I don't think it is about lack of government initiative but rather it is about people not wanting to buy a very expensive car which is also far less convenient and loses a lot of money. The cobalt slavery incidents don't help either.

[volkman10]

Volkswagen is considering closing its Germany plant to cut expenses further.

Volkswagen issued a statement on September 2 that it was considering closing its Germany plant to further cut expenses, and the shutdown plan includes a large car manufacturing plant and a parts factory, involving the main passenger car brands of the Volkswagen Group. This will be the first time in Volkswagen's 87-year history that it has closed its plant in Germany.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume:

the economic environment is becoming more difficult, new players are entering Europe, and Germany is falling further behind in terms of competitiveness as a business location.

the statement also said that it would try to terminate the agreement between the company and the union to ensure job stability until 2029, which could lead to conflicts between the company and the union.

According to the financial report of Volkswagen Group in the first quarter of this year, sales in the first quarter reached 75.5 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 1%; Operating profit was 4.6 billion euros, down 20 percent year-on-year. Global sales were 2.1 million units, down 2% year-on-year. According to the second-quarter financial report, the second-quarter revenue was 83.34 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%; operating profit was 5.46 billion euros, down 2.4% year-on-year; global sales were 2.244 million units, down 3.8% year-on-year; In the first half of the year, 4.348 million vehicles were delivered, a year-on-year decrease of 0.6%.

The overall performance of the two quarters was mediocre, especially in terms of operating profit, and the Volkswagen Group's performance in the first half of the year was not satisfactory, which may also have led to the reduction of expenses by Volkswagen.

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