Production of the ID.4 by Volkswagen
VW sales director Klaus Zellmer told the “Münchner Merkur” that the entire VW fleet was to be made CO2-neutral by 2050 at the latest.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt The car manufacturer VW wants to gradually get out of the business with combustion cars. “In Europe we will exit the business with combustion vehicles between 2033 and 2035, in the USA and China a little later,” said VW sales director Klaus Zellmer the “Münchner Merkur” (Saturday edition).
“In South America and Africa, due to the lack of political and infrastructural framework conditions, it will take a good bit longer.” As a volume manufacturer, Volkswagen has different challenges to overcome when making the switch than, for example, car manufacturers who mainly sell vehicles in Europe.
Manager Zellmer told the newspaper that the entire VW fleet was to be made CO2-neutral by 2050 at the latest. In Europe, he is aiming for a share of 70 percent of total sales by electric cars by 2030. This would equip you for a possible tightening of the European Union’s climate targets and even go beyond them.
When it comes to the end dates for internal combustion engines, there are differences between the German car companies. The Volkswagen subsidiary Audi, for example, wants to present the last fuel SUV in 2026. The production of cars with internal combustion engines is to be phased out gradually by 2033.
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Daimler boss Ola Källenius has announced that the model range will be CO2-neutral before 2039. BMW boss Oliver Zipse rejects a specific end date. By 2030, every second BMW sold is expected to be an electric vehicle, and by then the Mini small car division should have switched entirely to electromobility.
For the second half of the year, Zellmer is confident about the semiconductor shortage, which is currently slowing automotive production worldwide. “We are currently assuming that the supply of chips will remain tense in the coming months, but that the lowest point of the supply crisis will also be reached.” However, further production adjustments cannot be ruled out.
More: The end of the internal combustion engine is near – which manufacturers will withdraw from the technology and when.