Volkswagen has announced it plans to increase its investment into electric vehicles (EVs) by spending an additional $193 billion over the next five years. The investment will be in areas such as battery cell production, software, and expanding its presence in North America and China in an effort to cut costs and increase its market share.
Approximately $122 billion, or more than two-thirds of that money, will be allotted for electrification and digitalization. This is a significant 56% increase from its last five-year plan, with the automaker attributing the increase to additional investments in battery cell factories and battery raw materials. (via Automotive News)
Some of that battery production will come from Canada, but not until 2027. Earlier this week VW announced it will build its first North American battery cell factory in Canada in St. Thomas, Ontario.
VW anticipates its investments in electric vehicles and batteries will reach their highest point in 2025 before gradually decreasing. The automaker aims to launch an affordable EV priced at around €25,000 ($26,795) also by 2025, produced on a second-generation version of its all-electric MEB platform. Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said that low price will hopefully be achieved through lower raw materials pricing and expanded battery production.
On the software side VW is developing high-performance software for its premium and luxury brands, with plans to eventually apply it company-wide to improve operations at its software unit, Cariad. One of the first vehicles to receive the new high-performance software will be the electric Porsche Macan, which CEO Oliver Blume said on Monday will launch in 2024.
The unit has been plagued with issues resulting in it going over budget and missing deadlines, all of which helped contribute to an operating loss of €2 billion in 2022 for VW.
