The automaker Volkswagen wants to gradually get out of the business with combustion cars. “In Europe, we will exit the combustion vehicle business between 2033 and 2035, into the United States 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 other challenges with the To cope with the changeover as, for example, car manufacturers who mainly sold 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 Electric cars 70 percent of total sales. This would equip you for a possible tightening of the European Union’s climate targets and even go beyond them. The company had a similar timeline on Thursday presented on LinkedIn.
So far, none of the German car companies has set an end date for internal combustion engines. The Volkswagen subsidiary Audi wants to bring the last fuel SUV onto the market in 2026, if the group also wants to present its last newly developed engine platform for gasoline and diesel. The production of cars with internal combustion engines is to be phased out gradually by 2033, with the exception of China, where there will still be demand later.
BMW boss Zipse warns of “contraction course”
Daimler boss Ola Källenius (52) has announced that the model range will be CO2-neutral before 2039. An updated strategy will be presented later this year. BMWBoss Oliver Zipse (57) rejects a specific end date. In one Interview with the “Passauer Neue Presse” and the “Donaukurier” on Monday Zipse warned of a “downsizing course” for companies that did not offer combustion engines in the 1930s. “The real decision-makers in our industry are the customers.” In addition, “a modern diesel is more climate-friendly than an electric vehicle that is charged with electricity from coal”. 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.
Internationally, some luxury brands are showing greater ambitions for a quick switch to electric cars. Volvo wants to completely stop selling combustion engines by 2030. Jaguar is expected to become fully electric as early as 2025, while its sister brand Land Rover will be given until 2036. Among the mass manufacturers ventures General Motors with the end date of 2035 particularly far out. ford wants to get out by 2030, but only for the European market. Japanese manufacturers, like Honda, are planning a longer phase-out by 2040, while the Toyota group, which is the leader in hybrid technology, does not want to commit itself.
For the second half of the year, VW manager Zellmer is confident about the semiconductor shortage, which is currently slowing down car 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.