By focusing its future resources on developing electric vehicles and reviewing various business assets, Volkswagen has signaled a strategic shift for its automotive business.
The German car manufacturer recently announced its willingness to invest billions of euros in electric cars, handling and automated driving technology by 2025, leaving behind the notorious “Dieselgate” scandal in an attempt to reshape and reinvent itself. In its drive to become a world leader in green transport, VW also plans to sell up to three million vehicles by the aforementioned year, with the introduction of more than 30 new purely battery-powered electric vehicles over the next decade.
But that means phasing-out the current line-up, which according to German newspaper Handelsblatt will involve the axing of more than 40 models, reducing the total of different VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda cars on the market to well below 300.
A considerable amount, especially as the Wolfsburg-based car maker currently offers around 340 models within its five main brands. This will also make it less difficult to manage the 12-brand company, which includes MAN trucks, Lamborghini, and Ducati.
The final number of models that would be discontinued hasn’t been decided yet, but the move, together with Volkswagen’s willingness to turn green, is believed to help the German company overcome the cheating emission scandal, which created charges totaling €16.2 billion ($18.3 billion).
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