Volkswagen CEO: Smart cars, not e-cars, are a “game changer”

MUNICH, September 5 (Reuters) – Herbert Diess, head of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), said on Sunday that autonomous cars, not electric vehicles, were the “real game changer” for the automotive industry, which s faces the end of combustion engines in Europe in 2035.

Diess’s comments point to the pace at which the 62-year-old is trying to transform Europe’s largest vehicle maker by basically saying the switch to battery-powered (EV) electric vehicles, which has yet to be sealed, was sealed. to support with actual sales.

“Autonomous driving will really change our industry like nothing before,” Diess said in Munich before the official opening of the IAA Motor Show, adding that the shift to electrified cars was “a little easy.” compared to.

“The real game changer is software and autonomous driving.”

Diess spoke as environmental pressure on the car sector increased and the European Commission proposed in July an effective ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2035. read more

On Friday, Greenpeace and German environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) said they would take legal action against German carmakers, including Volkswagen, if they did not intensify their policies to tackle climate change. Read more

So Diess, who clashed with Greenpeace activists before entering the venue on Sunday, not only aims to surpass Tesla (TSLA.O) and turn Volkswagen into the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles by 2025.

It also wants to turn stand-alone car software services into a key pillar of the group’s future business, which is why Volkswagen has bought from autonomous software startup Argo AI, a competitor to Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo (GOOGL.O).

Traditional vehicle manufacturers and technology companies have invested billions of dollars over the past decade to realize the vision of driverless cars, but robotic axles remain elusive due to technical and regulatory hurdles that require a presence. human continued.

Volkswagen expects 1.2 trillion euros ($ 1.43 trillion) in software-enabled sales in the automotive sector by 2030, accounting for about a quarter of the global mobility market, which is expected to surpass twice as much as 5 trillion euros.

“By 2030 … about 85% of our business is cars, private cars, privately owned shared rental vehicles. And about 15% of mobility should be shuttle, mobility as a service,” he said. Diess.

This is related to the group’s recent move to lead a consortium in an acquisition of the car rental firm Europcar (EUCAR.PA), a commitment to potentially lucrative mobility services that have yet to come true.

($ 1 = $ 0.8416)

Report by Christoph Steitz and Jan Schwartz Edited by Andrew Cawthorne, Sandra Maler and Marguerita Choy

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