Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess said today that a Joe Biden win in the US presidential election would boost the German automaker’s efforts to mass-produce electric vehicles globally.
Diess said on a Bloomberg webcast [via Reuters]:
A Democratic program would be more aligned with our worldwide strategy to fight climate change to go electric.
The United States, when it comes to market share, is the weakest region in the world.
VW is globally rolling out electric vehicles in Europe, China, and the US. As Electrek has previously reported, Biden’s plan for electric cars includes significant investments in charging infrastructure and updating government vehicle fleets to electric vehicles in order to increase demand. Donald Trump does not have an EV plan.
In the US, VW is on track to start production of the ID.4 at the Chattanooga factory in early 2022. Orders opened in September with a $100 deposit. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Volkswagen Group of America employs around 8,000 people in the US, with its manufacturing center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“Policymakers from all parties are determined to rebalance trade relations, in an effort to bring investment and jobs back to the United States, Diess explained,” writes Reuters.
Electrek’s Take
VW wants to sell a lot of electric cars globally, and the US is a potentially huge market. As Electrek‘s Seth Weintraub tweeted this morning:
What Diess said isn’t groundbreaking — of course the Democrats are aligned with the fight against climate change because they have an actual plan. The Republicans have no plan. And the US is the weakest world EV market.
What makes Diess’ public statements today, of all days, significant, is that the election winner hasn’t been called yet, and it’s an extremely tight race. So in essence, VW — the largest automaker in the world — is publicly endorsing Biden, because he aligns with VW’s plan for global rollout of electric cars.
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