Volkswagen misses emissions targets
VW parking lot in Wolfsburg: The car company will only meet the EU emissions standards this year.
(Photo: dpa)
Düsseldorf The Volkswagen Group just missed the European fleet targets for carbon dioxide emissions. As the company announced on Thursday, the average value of all cars sold in Europe in the past year was 0.5 grams above EU standards.
The VW Group initially did not provide any information on how high the fine will be that the Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer will have to transfer to the EU Commission. From corporate circles it is heard that the group assumes a fine of around 150 million euros
“The Covid-19 pandemic thwarted our plans here,” said CEO Herbert Diess, commenting on the fleet result. Diess himself announced several times last year that the VW Group wanted to meet the European fleet targets.
The result for the fourth quarter of 2020 will not be affected by the fines due. The VW Group confirmed that precautionary provisions had already been made for this last year. The EU fine therefore only has to be taken into account in the cash flow. In addition, it was said in Wolfsburg that there are provisions in the amount of 300 million euros, some of which can now be reversed.
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CEO Diess still sees the Wolfsburg-based automaker on the right track in terms of CO reduction. Compared to 2019, Volkswagen reduced its average fleet output by 20 percent last year. On average in the EU, the fleet value must be 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven. With electric vehicles, car manufacturers can massively reduce their fleet values. Purely battery-operated models are counted with zero grams.
VW and Audi achieve the goals, Skoda and Seat do not
The VW brand sold 134,000 all-electric vehicles last year, most notably the E-Golf and the new ID.3. The Volkswagen brand’s fleet value is 92 grams, which is well below the EU requirements. Within the VW group, Audi also undercuts the targets set by the Brussels EU Commission.
VW boss Diess is now announcing again that the group will meet its fleet targets in the future. In 2021, a whole series of other electric vehicles will come onto the market with which the entire group can further reduce its CO2 fleet values. This year, for the first time, there will also be electric cars from the group brands Skoda and Cupra. VW, Audi and Porsche are expanding their existing electric range. “This will enable us to achieve our fleet target this year,” promised the CEO.
The entire VW group missed the fleet target for the past year, although it had formed a so-called “pool” with other vehicle manufacturers whose fleet values were below the EU limits. This included the now once British MG brand and its Chinese parent company SAIC.
Other automakers have also formed similar alliances. As a pure electrical supplier, Tesla has a fleet value of zero. The US company had therefore concluded a CO2 alliance with Fiat-Chrysler (FCA); the American-Italian automaker can significantly reduce its average CO2 value.
The Daimler Group had already announced two weeks ago that the fleet targets for the past year have probably been achieved. At BMW, the result is still pending.
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