Volkswagen to Redirect its Focus onto the Electric Vehicle Market

Posted by: JackSawyer // Student

Volkswagen, the car manufacturer that was caught for cheating emission tests last year, plans to redirect its business into the electric vehicle market. By targeting this segment, Volkswagen is attempting to fix its tainted image and conquer the EV market by bringing a range of green vehicles into the market.

With government policies pushing an EV shift and the market growing each year, it could be a smart move for the car manufacturing giant, but will they be able to transition successfully? The EV market is starting to gain more traction in both competition and profits. Many car companies are now offering electric options and some have gained promising sales, Tesla's Model 3 netted nearly $198 million in pre-orders in just 24 hours, with figures like this, it is no surprise that many forecast the industry to explode in the next decade. However, despite this prospect, Volkswagen needs to do a number of things in order to potentially reap the benefits of the growing EV market.

Firstly, they need to repair their reputation, announcing their new direction into the EV market is a good first step but it will take time until the effects of their devious behaviour has been fully mitigated. Secondly, they need to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Currently, competitors electric vehicles like Chevy Volt is estimated to have almost double the range of Volkswagen's E-Golf. If Volkswagen really wants to conquer the EV market they will have to make significant strides in this department. Fortunately they are already beginning to take steps to address this, the company plans to become a global supplier for electric batteries by building a battery factory in Germany. However, this factory would potentially cost the company upwards of $11 billion and with court settlements still to be paid, it could be a while before VW has the assets to afford setting up a facility of such magnitude.

Do you think VW is smart to take on this new direction with such little EV infrastructure in place? What reason does their new customer base - environmentally conscious consumers - have to trust Volkswagen now after they lied to the general public about emissions in their cars? How can they regain that trust?

Lee, Jan. "VW Aims to Remake Its Green Empire (and the Electric Car Industry)." Triple Pundit People Planet Profit. N.p., 01 July 2016. Web. 10 July 2016. <http://www.triplepundit.com/2016/07/vw-plans-remake-green-empire-electric-car-industry/#>.