They say new converts are always the most devout. Take Volkswagen: after betting big on diesel—and losing—the automaker is going full-speed ahead on electrification. Earlier this year, it revealed it had committed to spending $25 billion on batteries from a number of suppliers, including Samsung and LG Chem. Now those plans may be accelerating, if all goes well at a meeting of VW's supervisory board this coming Friday.

Last week, Reuters reported that there is a proposal to convert two German factories over to electric vehicle production. One of these—at Emden—would build an as-yet unnamed sub-€20,000 ($22,550) EV and another called the I.D. Aero, both from VW Group's new EV architecture (called MEB). Another plant at Hannover would produce the crowd-pleasing I.D. Buzz. The first of VW's new MEB vehicles will be the I.D. which goes into production at a third factory in Zwickau in late 2019.

And today, VW CEO Herbert Diess told the German publication Automobilwoche that total battery earmarks for the company were now up to €50 billion ($56 billion). "We have bought batteries for 50 million vehicles," he told the publication.

At first glance, that sounds like an enormous number, but it should be feasible. More than 50 million vehicles based on VW Group's MQB platform have been built since the front-wheel drive modular platform was adopted in 2012, and we know a dizzying array of electric models are planned for MEB, which is for small- and medium-sized vehicles. Back when that roadmap was announced, the battery supply remained a question—one that Diess has now answered.

However, the board meeting is not a formality. EVs are less complex to manufacture than internal combustion-powered vehicles, and battery production would be handled by VW's suppliers. So although it seems a no-brainer from an emissions point of view, such a large switch to electric vehicle production could cost thousands of jobs, which won't be popular with the unions that comprise half of the board.