Current realities have made VW Group refocus and reallocate a third of its R&D budget back to vehicles with gas engineshas been one of the most bullish automakers on electric vehicles, having committed only a few years ago to launching more than 75 EVs before the end of the decade. However, with EV sales slowing more than expected, the automaker now concedes that demand for vehicles with gas engines isn't going away.
“The future is electric, but the past is not over,” VW Group CFO and COO Arno Antlitz said last month during a Reuters press conference in Munich, As a result, VW Group will now commit roughly a third of its R&D budget to vehicles with a gas engine, instead of scaling back that investment. The remainder will be spent on electrification and digitization, Antlitz reportedly said at the conference., which has refrained from going all in on EVs, reported record sales volumes and profits for the past financial year thanks to hybrid demand that grew 32.1% compared to the previous year.VW Group is still fully focused on making EVs mainstream.
Various automakers in recent months have backtracked on plans to fully focus on EVs. Mercedes-Benz, which planned to exclusively sell EVs by 2030, in February said it now expects to keep sellingwell beyond that date. Cadillac has also said that it will likely still be selling vehicles with gas powertrains beyond 2030, and Alfa Romeo, which said it would be an EV brand as early as 2027, is instead thought to be developing its upcoming vehicles to offer the choice between EV and gas powertrains.