Strategy

Five years ago, we launched the transformation of the Volkswagen brand: With the TRANSFORM 2025+ strategy, the company has completely realigned itself. We have renewed our model range from the ground up. Volkswagen has made a clear commitment to e-drive vehicles. We are already on our way to CO₂-neutral mobility for all!

With our enhanced “ACCELERATE” strategy, we are initiating the next phase of this transformation. The fight against climate change, the increasing pace of innovation in our industry and new competitors present us with major challenges. That is why we are increasing the speed and changing Volkswagen more radically than ever before.

Until 2030, we want to increase the share of all-electric cars in Europe to 70 percent of our sales. In this way, we aim to significantly exceed the planned EU regulation. In the U.S. and China, we want to increase the share of e-cars to 50 percent by 2030. We are accelerating our pace, producing large volumes and covering all segments. In this way, we are positioning the Volkswagen brand as the global market leader for climate-neutral e-mobility.

But anyone who believes that the e-car alone will take us into the future is mistaken. The real gamechanger is digitalization. Electrification, software-defined products, new business models and autonomous driving – these four major forces are driving the future development of vehicles. The Volkswagen brand is driving change by developing software and the digital customer experience into core competencies, tapping into additional revenues through data-based services in the use phase of cars, and making autonomous driving more widespread between now and 2030. Because autonomous driving must not become the privilege of a few.

Just as we have boldly moved forward on the topic of e-mobility, we are also taking a bold approach to the other issues of the future.

The Volkswagen brand is investing around 18 billion euros in e-mobility, hybridization and digitalization by 2026. To manage these investments, we aim to achieve a sustainable operating margin of at least 6 percent by 2023.

Volkswagen will change from the ground up. The brand will stand for climate-friendly e-mobility like no other, for fascinating digital customer experiences, for new business models and for autonomous driving across the board. Over the past few years, we have built a strong starting point. With “ACCELERATE”, we are now giving the digitalization of the brand a further boost.

Press releases

Volkswagen brand trims Board of Management: established processes from “New Mobility” division to be integrated into Technical Development

01/29/24

Company

Volkswagen brand trims Board of Management: established processes from “New Mobility” division to be integrated into Technical Development

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand is trimming its Board of Management; subsequent to a pioneer phase for the “New Mobility” division, and in line with plans, the brand is integrating key elements of this division into Technical Development (TE). Led by Kai Grünitz, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Technical Development, all development activities for future technologies and vehicle architectures (MEB and SSP) have already been bundled. The development division also steers development volumes for ICE model series (MQB). In future, responsibility for series technical project management will rest exclusively with TE. In the context of the brand’s performance program, this course of action supports the further optimization of development processes in Wolfsburg and helps shorten development times. New software development processes for electric vehicles based on the MEB were specifically tested and established in the “New Mobility” division. The transfer of these activities to the MQBevo has already taken place as planned, and the “New Mobility” division’s mission has been accomplished. Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for “New Mobility” since 2022, has been named the Volkswagen Group’s Head of Development in China effective April 1, 2024.

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Volkswagen brand’s biggest performance program on track, with earnings contribution of up to four billion euros expected for 2024

12/19/23

Company

Volkswagen brand’s biggest performance program on track, with earnings contribution of up to four billion euros expected for 2024

The Volkswagen brand has achieved an important milestone in the “Accelerate Forward/ Road to 6.5” global performance program, with management and employee representatives reaching agreement on key points to streamline the company, following intensive negotiations. The objective of the three-year program is to secure the Volkswagen Group’s core brand competitiveness, ensure it is future-proof and sustainable in the long term. The Volkswagen brand aims to make a positive earnings contribution totaling ten billion euros by 2026, also to offset negative effects such as inflation and higher raw material costs. The operating return on sales is expected to improve sustainably to 6.5 percent in 2026. The Volkswagen brand projects that the program will deliver positive earnings contributions of up to four billion euros as early as 2024. To achieve this, the Company concentrates on performance-enhancing and cost-saving measures in the program’s three focus areas: optimizing material and product costs, reducing fixed and manufacturing costs and increasing revenues. The Company and the employee representatives have also reached agreement on staff reduction measures to cut personnel and labor costs. These measures will apply throughout Volkswagen AG. As such, from January 2024 the Company will extend its partial retirement schemes to all employees born in 1967 (and for severely handicapped employees born in 1968), to reduce administrative staff costs in particular. The current hiring freeze and access freeze to the Tarif Plus salary group will continue until further notice.

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Volkswagen Passenger Cars readies plants for the future

09/29/23

Company

Volkswagen Passenger Cars readies plants for the future

The Volkswagen brand is preparing its Germany-based production network for the future. At a meeting today, the Group Board of Management informed the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group about its vehicle allocation plans for the brand through 2028. In taking this step, the company has set its sites up for profitable capacity utilization and the economic perspective of the coming years. Efficient vehicle allocation and increased productivity are key aspects of the performance program ACCELERATE forward | Road to 6.5 initiated by the brand.

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Volkswagen brand invests one billion euros for growth in South America

07/04/23

Company

Volkswagen brand invests one billion euros for growth in South America

The Volkswagen brand aims to make significant gains in South America with a major product offensive. By 2027, the company plans to grow by 40 percent in Brazil, the region’s largest market. For example, 15 new electric and flex-fuel vehicle models are being launched by 2025 alone. Hybrid vehicles will also follow in the medium term. Before the end of 2023, the company is bringing its first fully electric models to Brazil – the Volkswagen ID.4. and the ID. Buzz. In total, the South American automotive market is expected to grow 11 percent a year until 2030 – making it one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The company is thereby systematically implementing its strategy to rapidly expand its business in growth markets and to intensify sustainable mobility. Volkswagen is celebrating its 70th anniversary of foundation in Brazil these days.

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Performance program: Volkswagen brand aims to become more efficient and more profitable

06/14/23

Company

Performance program: Volkswagen brand aims to become more efficient and more profitable

Volkswagen intends to drive up its performance and profitability in the long term with the “ACCELERATE FORWARD | Road to 6.5” global performance program. The goal is to sustainably achieve a return on sales of 6.5 percent to safeguard investments in future technologies and jobs. To this end, the brand plans to improve earnings by around 10 billion euros in 2026. At today’s works meeting held at the Wolfsburg headquarters, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer outlined important milestones of the program, such as streamlining and accelerating administrative processes, increasing efficiency in development and production, streamlining the model range, and at the same time reducing the number of equipment variants and further improving product quality. Volkswagen is setting up a Project Management Office (PMO) to develop and manage the program. Stephan Wöllenstein, top manager at VW, will take over its management. The program is to be implemented in close consultation with the employee representatives. All measures should be up and running by October 2023.

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Volkswagen accelerating transformation of Wolfsburg plant

12/07/22

Company

Volkswagen accelerating transformation of Wolfsburg plant

Volkswagen is making the Wolfsburg site fit for the future: the brand will be making an initial investment of some €460 million in the main factory at the Group headquarters by the beginning of 2025. This was announced on Wednesday by CEO Thomas Schäfer during a works meeting in Wolfsburg. The investment is primarily earmarked for preparations to produce the new ID.3. The compact electric car will be leaving the assembly line in Wolfsburg from 2023 – initially in partial production, with full production slated from 2024. Ramp-up is due for completion by the end of 2025. The necessary training measures for the workforce are currently being prepared. Post-ID.3 ramp-up, a further all-electric model for the booming SUV segment is to boost Wolfsburg’s capacity utilization for EV production over the long term. The technical basis for the new model is the Modular Electric Drive System (MEB). Volkswagen’s e-car platform is to undergo substantial further development as the MEB+, thus becoming even more efficient.

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Stories

04/29/21

Company

All-green electric: The ID. Family goes carbon-neutral

Volkswagen has committed itself to the Paris climate agreement. Which is why the company delivers ID. Family vehicles to customers with a carbon-neutral balance. In order that electric vehicles remain carbon-neutral during their usage phase, they must be charged with green electricity. To ensure that this is in good supply, Volkswagen supports investments in the generation of additional green electricity.

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03/05/21

Company

Strategy update at Volkswagen: “The transformation to electromobility was only the beginning”.

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