VW lifts EV sales goal for Europe

Volkswagen Group has raised its electric car sales goal for Europe for its core VW passenger cars brand.

The brand's new target is for at least 80 percent of its sales in Europe to be full-electric models in 2030, said Thomas Ulbrich, who heads VW brand's New Mobility business.

Under VW's Accelerate electrification strategy unveiled in 2021, the 2030 target was 70 percent.

Ulbrich said the VW brand has the most ambitious target of all VW Group brands, which include Audi, Skoda and Seat/Cupra.

The VW brand has "always been at the forefront of these issues in the group and we feel obliged to set our targets so high," Ulbrich told Automotive News Europe's sister publication Automobilwoche.

VW brand is launching new and refreshed models under its ID badge for all-electric cars.

• The ID3, the first ID model that launched in 2019, has just been given a face-lift, with a cleaner design and software upgrades.
• The ID7, a Passat-sized electric sedan, is expected to be unveiled on March 15 after VW showed a near-production, camouflaged prototype at the CES in Las Vegas in January.
•  VW will launch an all-electric version of the Tiguan SUV in 2025
• Entry-level battery-electric cars priced under 25,000 euros, a hatchback and a crossover, likely called the ID1 and ID2.

The brand has a long way to go to achieve the 80 percent target. Last year full-electric cars accounted for just over 10 percent of total VW passenger car sales.

Ulbrich acknowledged that the new target was "extremely ambitious." He said: "This path shows our commitment to the electrification strategy."

VW is not raising its full EV targets for the markets in China and the U.S., where its targets for battery-electric vehicles remain at 50 percent.