VW boosts spending to speed up electric car shift
Volkswagen said on Tuesday it would invest 122b euros ($130b) in the shift towards electric vehicles over the coming years, as the battle for dominance in the EV market heats up.
The German giant said it was planning overall investments of 180b euros between 2023 and 2027, of which 68% would be spent on electrification and digitization, AFP reported.
The 180-billion figure is a 13-percent increase on VW’s previous multi-year investment plan.
“As early as 2025, every fifth vehicle sold worldwide is expected be one with an all-electric drive,” the group said.
VW said “a major reason” for the spending increase was its push to build a series of battery factories, as well as expenses linked to securing raw materials for batteries.
Volkswagen announced on Monday it had chosen Ontario in Canada as the site for its first battery plant in North America.
The decision comes amid growing concerns that massive US green subsidies will lure away investment and put European jobs at risk.
VW said last week it would “wait and see” how the European Commission – the European Union’s executive arm – responded to Washington’s incentive package before moving ahead with a planned battery plant in eastern Europe.
The company is already working on setting up three battery plants in Germany, Spain and Sweden.