FRANKFURT: Volkswagen’s shares surged more than 9% on Tuesday, lifting its market value towards US$150 billion as the world’s second-largest carmaker gave more details about its ambitious expansion in electric driving.
“Our good performance in 2020, a year dominated by crisis, will give us momentum for accelerating our transformation,” Chief Executive Herbert Diess said in a statement. Volkswagen’s common stock, meanwhile, leapt by as much as 29%, its biggest intraday gain since a famous short-squeeze in 2008 during which the carmaker briefly became the world’s most valuable company.
The group confirmed it is aiming for an operating margin of 7%-8% by 2025, adding it would likely end 2021 at the upper end of a 5%-6.5% target corridor.