HERNDON, VA – German auto manufacturer Volkswagen on Tuesday officially announced that they plan on investing $192.6 billion over the next five years into the development of electric vehicles (EVs), with the goal being the conversion of the companies output from gas powered vehicles to solely electric by 2027.
Between 2023 and 2027, Volkswagen noted that their company will focus fully on developing and building EVs, with their upcoming impressive investment having been driven by a substantial profit of over $24 billion during the operating year of 2022 – driven in-part by the successful IPO of luxury brand Porsche – representing a 13 percent profit increase year-over-year.
Volkswagen Group CFO and COO Arno Antlitz stated that 2023 will be “decisive” for executing the company’s strategic goals to “continue investing in electrification and digitalization” even in a “challenging economic environment.”
We have interest rates increasing and the overall demand is slightly coming down from a customer perspective, from a market perspective, but on the other hand we are still operating in an environment, in an economy, that is characterized by [semiconductor] supply that is still not sufficient,” he said.
Antlitz also said that the easing of the global shortage of semiconductors would also contribute to Volkswagen achieving its goals going forward.
Based on that, we have an order book which is almost 1.8 million cars,” he said. “Based on our strong products, strong brands and that order book, we are rather confident for 2023.”
The announcement comes as the industry continues its transition over to EVs, with more and more automotive manufacturers investing greater sums of money into their development and manufacture. In late 2022 alone, Volkswagen completed the landmark electrification of its vehicle plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with more work in that regard to come in 2023 and onward.
Joe Mcdermott is a staff reporter who keeps his eyes peeled for interesting automotive news. He works mainly for our subsidiary, The Published Reporter® as well as our IT firm, SEARCHEN NETWORKS®. Mcdermott, one of our first and thus veteran reporters, is also a data analyst for select independent news and media organizations in the United States.