VW plans electric van family from 2028

Car industry - VW plans electric van family from 2028

Following the ID Buzz electric van, Volkswagen plans to convert its entire van fleet to electric from 2028. The large Crafter van will make the start in 2028, announced VW Commercial Vehicles boss Carsten Intra in an interview with the German Press Agency. The other models would then come gradually: "We are planning a synchronized model change, not all at once, but neatly staggered in a reasonable rhythm." Ultimately, a complete e-vehicle family is to be created under the project name "Space".

To date, the VW van division based in Hanover has focused primarily on e-mobility with the ID Buzz, which was launched in 2022 and of which there will also be a long-wheelbase version and a sporty variant next year. The fact that the entire fleet is now being electrified is the result of a major order from Audi falling through: the Ingolstadt sister company had actually planned to have a new top-of-the-range electric model built in Hanover from 2026. However, Audi withdrew the order in September. As a replacement, VW Commercial Vehicles was awarded the contract by the Group for its own electric platform.

This creates the opportunity to electrify the entire fleet. For the first time, an entire vehicle family could be developed on the new platform. "This would simply not have been possible with the platform on which the ID Buzz is based." This is because the electric van still shares the technology with the ID.4 electric SUV from the passenger car division. The E-Crafter, which will be available in small numbers until 2022, was actually just a combustion engine converted to electric. Intra is convinced that the new platform is therefore ultimately much better than the lost Audi order. "We are now strengthening our own commercial vehicle expertise with our own platform. We've never had that before."

This is a radical change of course for VW Commercial Vehicles. "We have completely changed our strategy," said Intra. "From a lot of external production for other brands to our own products." As a result, the company now holds all the strings in its own hands. "What we have now is actually a vision for the next 15 to 20 years." This will more than compensate for the loss of the Audi order in the end.

In contrast to the passenger car division, which is suffering from production losses and high costs, business at VW Commercial Vehicles is currently going well, according to Intra. "2023 will be a very strong year, I'm sure of that," he said. "We even think it could be a record year in terms of earnings." After the supply bottlenecks of recent years, production is now up and running again and the high order backlog is being worked off.

The company is still working to capacity with existing orders until mid-2024. Things will not continue like this after that. "The next two or three years will certainly be more difficult," said the brand boss with a view to the economy. "We will have to stretch ourselves a little."

The ten billion euro savings package currently being negotiated with the works council in Wolfsburg does not affect the commercial vehicle division, emphasized Intra. The company is not involved in the negotiations and the targeted sum only relates to the passenger car division. "We already have our own strategy program, which we call Grip." This has been running since 2021 with good results: "We are making even faster progress than originally planned."

He therefore sees no reason to add to this again, said Intra. The company will also continue to reduce its workforce from 15,000 to just over 10,000 employees by 2029 - without redundancies by not filling vacant positions. "And we will then be able to employ this team well."

Intra left it open as to when VW Commercial Vehicles will completely phase out the combustion engine. "That will ultimately be decided by the customers." However, the aim is to have an electric share of more than 55 percent by 2030. "In the end, the market will decide when it will be 100 percent." However, with the new electric platform that is now being developed for the "Space" family, it will be possible to react flexibly at any time.

Intra also left open when the ID California electric camper van based on the ID Buzz, announced for 2021, will be launched. "The concept is basically ready. But we have to wait until such a vehicle is really widely demanded. We don't see that yet." He therefore does not expect the electric motorhome to be launched until the second half of the decade. "Certainly not before 2025, and not even after 2030."