The recent diesel emission scandal has adversely affected the Volkswagen brand globally. In order to reclaim its lost image, the company revealed its plans to launch more than 30 electric powered vehicles by 2025. Post their launch, the company intends on selling two to three million units every year.
Speaking to media, CEO Matthias Mueller said that the company will need more electric vehicles to meet increasingly tight government limits on emissions of carbon dioxide. However, Volkswagen will continue to keep its focus on developing and selling internal combustion engines. Until now, the German automaker had been relying heavily on their diesel engine technology which claimed to meet emission goals. This strategy soon fell flat when the agencies discovered that the engine control software turned the emission controls on when the car was on a test and it turned them off during regular driving conditions.
Currently, the company is reportedly working out a settlement with the US authorities to repair or replace 500,000 cars with the problematic software. From their last year’s earning, Volkswagen has also set aside about 16.2 billion Euros ($18.1 billion) to cover the cost of fixes and recalls. More details about the electric models will be known at a later date.
