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By Victoria Waldersee
BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s logo will produce electric cars in Europe from 2033, its boss Thomas Schaefer said on Wednesday, pledging to a later date than its previous target of 2033-2035.
Schaefer said that over the next decade, the VW logo will increase the number of models to be offered and increase the profit margin for all volume logos (Volkswagen, SEAT and Skoda, and advertising cars) by 8 percent through 2025.
His comments echo other top executives at the German automaker who have also laid out plans to optimize production and productivity as it struggles to dominate the electric vehicle market.
Premium brands such as Audi and Porsche drove Group earnings in the first half of the year, with Audi reporting a 51% increase in operating profit and Porsche a 22% increase, with an 8% decrease for Volkswagen’s volume brands.
The passenger car logo posted an operating margin of 5. 6% in the first half, to 3. 4% at the same time last year.
Bringing big-brand cars to the same plant is helping costs, Schaefer said: “Traditionally, we have a lot of waste in the formula that we can eliminate. “
The VW logo would also shift its production purpose from focusing on a simple style consistent with the factory to “platform thinking,” Schaefer said, the same design fundamental to other styles consistent with economies of scale.
This, combined with standardizing battery chemistry, is key to achieving the automaker’s goal of generating a basic electric vehicle for 25,000 euros or less, Schaefer said.
“If you have another 30 or 40 mobile formats and battery packs, it’s unmanageable. It’s transparent and popular across brands and at scale,” the CEO said.
“The corporate that can function in this territory right now is us. “
(Reporting via Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jane Merriman, Kirsten Donovan)