The Volkswagen Group is advancing its transformation into a digital travel company. In the next five years, the company will spend about 73 billion euros on electrification, hybrid powertrains and digital technology. Capital expenditure and R&D investment will increase from 40% to 50% of the group’s total investment of 150 billion euros. By 2025, the Group’s digital investment will double to 27 billion euros, reflecting the Group’s great emphasis on software capacity building. Approximately 35 billion euros will be spent on electric vehicles, and another approximately 11 billion euros have been earmarked for the development of hybrid vehicles of existing models.
Herbert Diss, CEO of Volkswagen Group, said, “The Volkswagen Group has set a course for the future of electric vehicles very early. We are now a global leader with an electric vehicle platform and a series of electric vehicles. In the next few years, In order to meet people’s needs for personal, sustainable and fully connected travel, it will also be crucial to gain a leading position in the field of automotive software. To this end, our investment in digitalization has doubled.”
The current round of Volkswagen Group’s planning is based on the expectation that the global economy will continue to grow moderately in the next five years, and individual markets are expected to have regional differences. Increasing productivity by 30% and saving management costs can maintain this transition financially. In addition, the group is systematically optimizing its product portfolio. Therefore, models with less demand, engine-gearbox combinations and other model functions will be streamlined to reduce the complexity of the portfolio and improve efficiency.
