Volkswagen – the main brand of the world’s second-largest car-maker – is going electric-only in Europe by 2033, but petrol and diesel power is expected to remain in the US, China and Australia well into the next decade.
German car giant Volkswagen will exclusively produce electric cars in Europe by 2033, ceasing production of petrol and diesel-powered cars on the continent two years ahead of schedule.
In June 2021, Volkswagen’s passenger cars sales boss Klaus Zellmer said the German car-maker would end production of petrol and diesel cars in Europe between 2033 and 2035.
Now recently-appointed Volkswagen passenger cars CEO Thomas Schafer has confirmed the car-maker will only sell electric cars in Europe by 2033 – two years before the European Union plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles.
It is understood Volkswagen will continue to produce petrol and diesel-powered cars for major markets such as the US and China – as well as Australia – beyond 2033.
The 2033 end-date for petrol and diesel car sales in Europe is shared with fellow Volkswagen Group brand Audi, which announced its plans to go electric-only in all markets (excluding China) last year.
As previously reported, a lack of local emissions targets has ensured Australia will be one of the last markets to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, Volkswagen’s local division says.
A combination of limited supply and high demand for Volkswagen’s electric cars in Europe has delayed the introduction of its battery-powered models in Australia.
As of October 2022, Audi and Porsche are the only Volkswagen Group brands with electric cars in Australian showrooms, though models from VW, Skoda and Cupra are on the way.
It is unclear whether the German car-maker’s electric cars – such as the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV – will adopt the nameplates of their petrol and diesel equivalents (Golf and Tiguan respectively) once VW goes electric, or continue as a part of the ID brand.
Mr Schafer told the UK’s Autocar: “The Golf name specifically has huge value. But at the same time, the ID brand has gained huge momentum. The recognition it receives at [customer] clinics, people absolutely understand what we are talking about. So to change the name to something completely different doesn’t make sense.
“We are really working out now for the next ten years how we see the names developing. This is happening right now, this process of what we do with the name – Golf, Polo or whatever – what do we do to transform key names differently.”
From 2026, the Volkswagen Group will introduce its new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) electric-car architecture – allowing the car-maker to introduce a wider variety of models with common shared parts, reducing production and development costs.
Earlier this week, overseas publications reported the high-performance Volkswagen R brand would end production of petrol-powered cars by 2030, with the company confirming it has “several electric R models in the planning stages”.
At present, a majority of Volkswagen’s petrol and diesel cars sold in Australia are produced in Europe across the company’s factories in Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Portugal.
Cars sold by Volkswagen Australia which are built outside Europe include the first-generation Amarok (Argentina), upcoming second-generation Amarok (South Africa), Polo (South Africa) and Tiguan Allspace (Mexico).
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