The Volkswagen AG group will have
a lineup of 10 or more electric vehicles and hybrids by 2015,
an official with the German automaker said on Wednesday.
The group aims to sell 300,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids in
2018, which would account for 3 per cent of its overall sales
of new automobiles, Rudolf Krebs, Group Chief Officer for
Electric Traction, said during a visit to Japan.
Volkswagen plans to first launch an electric version of its
Up! subcompact in Europe in mid-2013, followed by the debut of
a battery-powered version of its mainline Golf model by the end
of that year. It may sell these models in Japan. The automaker
also intends to begin sales of a plug-in hybrid that year.
Group firms such as Audi AG and Porsche AG are to launch EVs
and hybrids as well.
The German automobile group intends to develop these new
models on its own. It is unlikely to form partnerships with
others in this field, Krebs said.
At present, electric drive units, including batteries, cost
five times as much as gasoline engines, said Krebs. Volkswagen
aims to halve the cost of batteries by around 2018 through
technological improvements and mass production, he added.
