Volkswagen remains committed to electric vehicles (EVs) as the future of the automotive industry, despite a recent decline in demand in some global markets. The German automaker has steadily increased its investment in EVs, introducing several zero-emission models over the past decade. However, it continues to offer internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to meet ongoing customer demand.
“The ICE market globally is still that big that we can’t put an end date to ICE development today,” said Martin Sander, VW’s head of sales and marketing, while speaking at the Paris Motor Show. “Of course, sooner or later, there will be an end date, determined by customer demand. As long as we see customers demanding ICE vehicles, we will have an offer.”
Sander also expressed concern over the inconsistent commitment from governments toward fully transitioning to an EV-only future. “I would wish for politicians to recognize that and just clearly commit to the fact that this is going to be the future and take all the doubts away from the consumers,” he told Autocar. He highlighted VW’s significant financial commitment to electrification, saying the company has “invested many billions in new vehicles, a complete line-up of vehicles on new platforms which we’re offering globally.”
While Volkswagen navigates the transition between ICE and EV models, Sander noted that future designs would reflect more consistency across the lineup. He pointed to the upcoming ID.2 model, which will share more design cues with the brand’s traditional ICE vehicles. “I think it’s really important that we have a clear Volkswagen design language,” he said. “Going forward for the next launches, you will see much more clarity in the way Volkswagen vehicles are designed.”
Volkswagen’s strategy aims to balance customer demand with the broader industry shift toward electrification, as the automaker continues to refine its design and development approach for both EVs and ICE vehicles.
Source: Autocar
