Volkswagen is undergoing a huge shift by going electric. In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, VW's chief strategist, Michael Jost, says he is convinced that electromobility is the future.

The traditional German car company is introducing its first-ever electric car — the ID.3 — at this week's International Motor Show. According to Jost, all pre-orderable models of the car have already sold out.

The chief strategist believes that many car companies that are now shifting to the production of electric cars have Tesla founder Elon Musk to thank, who was the first person to believe in this model.

VW plans to build around 22 million electric cars over the next ten years and is planning on spending around $33 billion on a complete structural change by 2023.

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The much-anticipated electric car boom should be coming sooner rather than later — at least this is what VW is hoping for. For the first time ever, the traditional German carmaker has completely turned its business model around to focus only on electromobility. Electric cars are the future, and slowly, combustion engines will disappear: This is what the Wolfsburg HQ is betting on. It is an ambitious and risky plan that VW has set itself — and Tesla CEO Elon Musk may also have contributed a small part to it.

In any case, VW chief strategist Michael Jost is jumping on the task of helping the car company go electric: "In the next few years, our developers will be rolling out the very last combustion platforms," he says in an interview with Business Insider. "It sounds simple, but it has an enormous impact on everything we do. Electrotransformation is not a temporary change, but our future business model".

VW plans to build around 22 million electric cars over the next ten years. The Group plans to spend around $33 billion on a complete structural change by 2023, according to the "Handelsblatt". These are proud figures. "We have therefore set up a modular electric drive matrix (MEB). This MEB can be scaled to work in China, the USA, and Europe. We want to build a total of 70 models on the Group's e-platforms over the next few years," says Jost.

The price of an entry-level ID.3 model is set to remain below $30,000. Reuters

"We don't build cars for millionaires, we build cars for millions"

The fact that Germany's carmakers, and VW in particular, are now relying so heavily on e-mobility is evidently also due to Tesla founder Elon Musk. According to Jost, the tech visionary has contributed a great deal in laying the foundation for today's electric car success. "Without Elon Musk, my job would have been much more difficult," says the VW chief strategist. "It is not easy to reshift a traditional company to e-mobility. You have to have a good plan and convince people". However, Jost claims 70% to 80 % of the company is now convinced that it is on the right track.

Read more: The 10 best-selling electric vehicles in the US this year so far

"Elon Musk certainly helped us. We looked at how he did it and how we want to do it. Even today, we still ask ourselves: 'In what areas is he better than us and where do we have to overtake him — and where not?'" says Jost.

One would think that Tesla is actually a competitor for VW on the e-car market. But in Wolfsburg, people surprisingly only have words of praise about the carmaker from Silicon Valley. "Tesla can do many things better because the company does not have a base. We already have a huge working model that needs to be completely transformed. But Elon Musk doesn't have that. He simply produces electric cars," says Jost. The chief strategist adds: "He doesn't have any brands to position. He focuses on electromobility and a sensible design. In principle, that's it. Tesla does a good job in many areas, whether it be in performance or battery concepts."

But with so much praise for the competition, one must ask themselves why a potential e-car buyer should go to VW in the first place. But Jost has an answer to this question: "We don't build cars for millionaires, but for millions."

The long road to becoming an e-car nation

One such "car for millions" will be the ID.3 — the first VW model designed as an electric car, which will be officially presented at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt this week. The ID.3 model answered one question for VW: "How do we manage to create an offer for customers who would typically buy a Golf that costs between $28,000 and $30,000?" says Jost. The price of an entry-level ID.3 model is set to remain below $30,000.

Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen, poses in an ID.3 pre-production prototype during the presentation of their new electric car on the eve of the International Frankfurt Motor Show in Frankfurt. Reuters

Read more: In the battle of the Tesla Model S and the Porsche Taycan, it's really no contest

At any rate, VW already sees the new model as a complete success — and as a symbol of the fact that the electric car industry in Germany has a bright future. "More than 30,000 ID.3 models have already been reserved since May, without interested parties actually having seen the car," explains the chief strategist. "This is a strong indicator that this car will work for a new generation of mobility". In addition, 75% of pre-orderers are new customers. "They are convinced that we are producing a cool car. That's an enormous sign of confidence."

However, there are still some challenges on the way to becoming an electric automobile nation. Fancy cars are not enough — and Volkswagen is also aware of this: "We have not yet made a breakthrough in Germany with electric cars. There are still many concerns in society, in the industry and, to some extent, also in politics that need to be tackled," says Jost.

But he also believes that the lack of supply has been the main reason why the anticipated boom in e-cars has yet to materialize. "We don't have a wide range of electrical products yet, because we haven't seen any demand yet. But now the time is ripe," Jost is convinced.

Although they're technically rivals on the e-car market, VW only has words of praise for the Tesla founder Elon Musk. Diego Donamaria/Getty Images for SXSW

"The customer will see it's cool"

Additionally, carmakers must still significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the coming years, something which has also been demanded by the EU Commission. This can hardly be achieved without an increase in electric car production. For Volkswagen, this is yet another reason for their transformation. "We don't just want to comply with laws, we also want to have a sustainable business model. And that can only be CO2-neutral."

In any case, VW is convinced of the shift to electric mobility. Even customers who may not think much of the electric car will be soon. "Customers will slowly see that this is cool," says Jost. "And once you've driven an electric car for two weeks, you don't want to drive anything else. It's just a different dynamic and a different sense of space."

The decision has now been made. Wolfsburg will put everything into producing electric cars — and now all they have to do is wait for the electric boom. "There is no alternative to e-mobility,'' says Jost — this conviction will decide the future of the company.