Volkswagen, already one of the most aggressive automakers when it comes to electrification, announced that it is accelerating its electric car plans and now aims for 1.5 million electric vehicles in 2025.

In its original electrification plan, the German automaker had planned to reach sales of 1 million electric vehicles in 2025 across all its brands.

With the latest developments, VW now expects to reach this goal in 2023.

Thomas Ulbrich, Member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management responsible for E-Mobility, commented on the updated target:

“2020 will be a key year for the transformation of Volkswagen. With the market launch of the ID.3 and other attractive models in the ID. family, our electric offensive will also become visible on the roads. Our new overall plan for 1.5 electric cars in 2025 shows that people want climate-friendly individual mobility – and we are making it affordable for millions of people.”

The plan is mostly based on the massive planned expansion of the MEB, VW’s new electric vehicle platform.

The VW ID.3 is the first vehicle based on the MEB platform and it went into production at Volkswagen’s Zwickau plant in September.

However, the first deliveries are not planned until the Summer of 2020. VW says that it currently has 37,000 reservations with deposits for the vehicle.

The Zwickau factory is being completely converted to the production of electric vehicles and several more VW factories are expected to follow in the next few years.

In order to support this rapid expansion, the automaker is also heavily investing in battery cell production with the goal to have a lot more capacity going online in 2023 and 2024.

Electrek’s Take

I know what people think about VW when it comes to electrification. They are all talk and no walk. I also understand why it’s kind of warranted since the company originally said almost a decade ago that it would the leader in electric vehicles by now.

That’s why it’s hard to take them seriously when they announce numbers like that, but I think it’s going to happen.

Their investment announcements were real. They have converted the Zwickau factory, started construction at the new EV plant in Tennesse, and more.

Those new EVs are coming and they are coming in mass.

Now whether they are going to be good, it remains to be seen, but we will give them a chance.

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