VW targets electric and hybrid sales lead by 2018

The VW Group has targeted becoming the leader in electric and hybrid car sales by 2018, after unveiling its new VW e-Up and VW e-Golf, both of which will go on sale early next year.

Speaking on the eve of the Frankfurt motor show, VW boss Martin Winterkorn outlined that the company had 70,000 employees trained in every aspect of electric drivetrain technology and outlined that the company – chiefly through VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda - would have 14 electric and hybrid cars on sale by the end of next year. He said plug-in vehicles had the greatest sales potential at present.Winterkorn also defended the firm’s late arrival in the electric car market, relative to rivals such as Nissan and Renault. "We are starting at exactly the right time. We are electrifying all vehicle classes, and therefore have everything we need to make the Volkswagen Group the top automaker in all respects, including electric mobility, by 2018.” said Winterkorn.

VW plans to base all its first generation electric and hybrid cars on existing vehicles, so that it has the flexibility to build them on the same production line as the standard cars.

"We have the most comprehensive approach to tomorrow's mobility,” said Winterkorn. “From highly-efficient, eco-friendly diesel, gasoline and natural gas-fuelled engines to classical hybrids, purely battery-driven vehicles and plug-in hybrids - no other automaker can match the broad range we have to offer."The electric car cannot be a compromise on wheels, it must convince customers in every respect."

Toyota has already sold 5.5 million hybrid or electric vehicles in 2013, and is targeting in excess of 11.5 million annually by 2018.