Volkswagen to boost electric car sales in China
July 17, 2017 Category Automotive, Weekly
Volkswagen has set a target to sell one million electric cars annually by 2025, with sales in the Chinese market being a key driver of that growth. “We will launch four families of electric cars by 2025 and the Chinese mainland will be the single largest market,” Jürgen Stackmann, Director of Global Sales and Marketing for Volkswagen Passenger Cars, told the South China Morning Post. Stackmann said the shortage of infrastructure, especially the shortage of battery charging stations, would be “solved very soon”. “I am not at all worried about this issue as the Chinese government has a long term commitment to make electric car development happen in the country,” he added. Volkswagen will begin delivery of its first electric car by 2020 – the same time frame Tesla plans to ship one million vehicles a year. In spite of government support, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China is relatively low, accounting for only 2% in 2017, while battery-powered electric cars have less than 1% market share. China has set a target of getting five million hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by 2020 when subsidies are expected to be canceled. However, there are some concerns that the high cost of batteries will hinder electric carmakers from earning a profit over the next two or three years. Stackmann believes batteries will become more affordable, making the overall price of electric cars acceptable. Despite profitability concerns, most carmakers, including China’s domestic brands Geely and BYD, have ambitions to increase their market share in electric cars.
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