Dealerships are often the weakest link in the EV marketing pipeline. An automaker can run flashy, expensive ads about EVs at the national level – but when consumers respond with a visit to a dealership, they too often get turned off by disinterested or ill-informed sales folks. Volkswagen is taking steps not only to avoid this problem but to fund EV dynamic marketing at the local level.
Herbert Diess, VW’s chief executive, made electric cars the theme of his Bloomberg interview today from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Diess heaped praise on Tesla as leading the way on EVs and car connectivity. But he emphasized Volkswagen’s giant scale as the means to one day become the world leader for electric cars. He said the transition to EVs is still “an open race.”
VW has released the first images of the new ID. SPACE VIZZION electric wagon concept that they plan to fully unveil at the LA Auto Show in two weeks.
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Volkswagen says that it is already starting its own battery cell production for electric cars with a pilot line in Salzgitter (Lower Saxony), where they will build a full battery factory with NorthVolt.
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Volkswagen has released its latest EV-focused video for the US, as the automaker compares the electric future to the moon landing, as the 50th anniversary of that historic event draws near.
Volkswagen and Ford have announced the long-expected expansion of their alliance, as the two companies will collaborate on electric and self-driving cars.
Volkswagen has posted a new video showcasing the inside of its upcoming ID.3 electric hatchback, giving us our longest — though still brief — look at the dashboard yet.
Volkswagen has long-term contracts with a number of battery suppliers as the company starts its massive push into electric cars, but it’s finding those suppliers need a little extra convincing when it comes to the potential of manufacturing batteries for its EVs.
Volkswagen’s Dutch website is already taking registrations for the automaker’s updated version of the e-up, which is due to arrive in European showrooms early next year with increased range.
A new interview with Volkswagen’s chief marketing officer reveals some of the reasoning behind the carmaker’s electric car strategy, including further details on the company’s new operating system and Automotive Cloud.
Volkswagen’s previously announced electric car sharing service, WeShare, officially kicked off today in Berlin. The launch brings 1,500 e-Golf vehicles to the city’s streets, with more electric models to follow.
The Volkswagen group is about to transition its electric car production from just a few thousand cars per year to millions of units per year and that’s going to take an incredible amount of battery cells.
Despite some concerns, VW now says that its battery contracts are secured ‘for the first few years’ of the production ramp up.
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Volkswagen’s “new direction” in the US is already in full swing as the company has unleashed a blitz of ads during the past few weeks, with one constant — the ID. BUZZ electric bus, still just a concept vehicle that’s three years from production.
VW is preparing to launch the ID3, its first next-gen all-electric car based on its new MEB platform, and it has been gradually revealing more about it leading to the release of the production version later this year.
Today, they announced that the ID.3, and other upcoming ID vehicles, will have a battery warranty covering 70% energy capacity for 8 years and 160,000 km (100,000 miles). They also confirmed the official charge rate, which is somewhat disappointing.
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The anticipated partnership between Volkswagen and Ford to work on both electric vehicles and self-driving cars appears to be inevitable, based on recent comments from VW CEO Herbert Diess.
Volkswagen is moving away from one self-driving unit in Aurora, and the carmaker could soon be moving on to another in Ford’s Argo.
Northvolt, a battery startup founded by two former Tesla executives, announced a $1 billion equity capital raise for its battery gigafactory in Sweden, in addition to a planned 50/50 joint venture with Volkswagen on another gigafactory in Germany.
Volkswagen has released a new onboard video showing its ID.R all-electric race car breaking the record for the fastest emission-free lap on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
Volkswagen has released a new ad which directly references the company’s Dieselgate emissions scandal as it hopes to turn the page toward its coming era of electric vehicles.
A Volkswagen board member confirmed on Twitter today that the carmaker has now received more than 20,000 pre-orders for its ID.3 electric hatchback.
Volkswagen opened up pre-orders for its ID.3 electric hatchback on Wednesday, and the company reports the car has already received more than 10,000 pre-booking registrations across Europe in the first 24 hours of availability.
Volkswagen is about to open its order book for the ID all-electric hatchback, the first all-electric vehicle built on its new MEB platform made to mass produce electric vehicles.
We now get a rare new look at a camouflaged ID prototype ahead of the production version unveiling.
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Volkswagen’s joint venture with JAC Motors is planning to invest 5.06 billion yuan ($750.8 million) in a new electric car factory in Hefei, China, according to local authorities.
Volkswagen is arguably the legacy automaker most committed to electric vehicles and this week, it gave a rare nod to a competitor, Tesla, for “‘proving electric cars are here to stay.”
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