Volkswagen Ups Its EV Production, Aims to Be Carbon Neutral by 2050

As part of its efforts to decarbonize, the company is supercharging its production of electric vehicles. The company will produce almost 70 new electric models by 2028, up from the 50 previously planned, bringing total projected electric vehicle production by that date up from 15 to 22 million, the car-maker announced in a press release.

Volkswagen sold a record 10.8 million vehicles in 2018, but only 40,000 were electric and 60,000 were hybrids, CNN reported.

“Carmakers around the world regard the demise of the internal combustion engine as only a matter of time, and many have set ambitious targets for sales of electrics and hybrids. Yet they are starting from a very small base,” CNN’s Charles Riley wrote.

One thing carmakers are trying to do to ease the transition is to work together to research and develop electric cars. To this end, Volkswagen said it would share its Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) with other automakers.

In addition to increasing its electric fleet, the company’s decarbonization plans also include powering factories with renewable energy, compensating for unavoidable emissions and working on reducing the emissions of the entire production cycle, from supplies to recycling.

In a company webpage on decarbonization, Volkswagen acknowledged that an electric vehicle was only as sustainable as the energy that powers it. The site pointed to the need to address factors such as the current energy intensity of cell production and the use of coal-powered energy to charge electric cars.

“The strategic goal of becoming the leading worldwide provider of e-mobility can make the focus on consistent decarbonization a strong competitive edge,” Volkswagen’s independent sustainability advisory board spokesman Georg Kell said. “In any case, it offers the best way for setting a common course for a secure and economically successful future on a planet worth living on.”