From CleanTechnica:
I flew into Germany at dawn today on my way to Zwickau, where Volkswagen has converted a factory that used to make almost 300,000 gasoline- and diesel-powered cars per year, most of them part of its Golf family of vehicles. In 2018, production at the Zwickau factory was phased out so crews could begin transforming it into a production facility devoted exclusively to making 100% battery electric cars.
Tomorrow, November 4, German chancellor Angela Merkel and a host of dignitaries will be on hand in Zwickau to witness the start of series production of the ID.3, Volkswagen’s first electric car built on the all new MEB platform. By 2021, the Zwickau factory will be turning out 6 different models for three different Volkswagen Group brands for a total of 330,000 electric vehicles a year.
“Production start of the ID.3 ushers in a new era for Volkswagen — one comparable to the first Beetle or the first Golf. Zwickau will become the lead plant for this new era in the automotive industry: The plant is undergoing a phased conversion — from 100% internal combustion engines to 100% electric drives. We are therefore initiating a system changeover in the automotive industry that will unfold over the next one or two decades,” says Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen board member for E-Mobility.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Volkswagen. After a series of scandals rocked the company in 2015, there was a time when many thought Volkswagen — one of the largest automobile manufacturers on the planet — might actually go out of business. To stave off such a drastic result, the company committed to spending more than $35 billion on the design and manufacture of electric automobiles. It has committed to spending more than $50 billion for the batteries those cars will need over the next decade.
In short, it has gone back to basics and begun restructuring itself as an automobile manufacturing powerhouse for the 21st century. Shortly it will have 6 electric vehicle production facilities — two in Germany, one in the Czech Republic, one in the United States, and two in China. It says it will build 22 million electric cars between now and 2028.
The question on everyone’s mind is, will it find 22 million customers for its electric cars? It’s all well and good that its Porsche division is building great electric sports cars for the affluent, but to reach its volume targets it will need to have models that ordinary people can afford. Last spring, the company hinted it could offer versions of its electric cars that retail for as little as $22,000, albeit with smaller batteries and a range of around 125 miles.
But range may not be as much of a hindrance to EV sales in years to come as it once was. The charging infrastructure is expanding in Europe, where Volkswagen is part of the Ionity fast charging network, and in the US, where its Electrify America subsidiary is expanding rapidly. Volkswagen is also pushing ahead with EV charging infrastructure in China.
[Read more here]
125 miles (200 kms) of range is enough for 99% of trips for most people. It's enough for commuting, going to the shops, visiting friends, picking up the kids from school. It's inconvenient for long trips. For example, on a Melbourne to Sydney trip (900 kms) you'll have to stop 5 times to recharge. And in Australia, there still aren't many EV chargers. But if you drive Melbourne to Sydney often, you won't buy an EV with a low range. For everybody else, an EV with 200 kms range is adequate, and the total cost of running it will be half the cost of a petrol/diesel vehicle. It was always likely that EVs would show a big range variation, with small cheap EVs with low ranges and luxury EVs with long ranges. This is how the Chinese EV market is.
The revolution has begun. EVs are already more than 7% of Europe's car sales. Watch VW's range of electric cars drive that up to and beyond 20%.
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| VW's ID3 electric car |
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