German Automaker Volkswagen, To Spend $40 Billion On EV And Autonomous Tech

As we draw closer to the final days of 2017, yet another transition kicks in during our watch. With every automaker now trying to get in on the electric mobility and autonomous driving game, the industry is expanding faster than ever. Volkswagen in particular is setting out a range of products, and a few billion dollars worth of investment, in further development of the two technologies in the next few years. The company today released a detailed plan for its EV and autonomy strategy moving forward.

Between now and the year 2022, VW will invest €34 billion (approximately $40 billion) into development of electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as new mobility services and digitalization throughout. Most of that money will go towards the electrification and hybridization of all VW Group vehicles, as well as updating facilities. For the VW brand in particular, that means a new EV architecture, and rumored electric replacements to both the Beetle and Scirocco.

We are reinventing the car. We are making targeted investments in digitalization, autonomous driving, electric mobility and new mobility services by providing the necessary funds from our own resources.

– Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen
VW’s Roadmap E strategy will include an all-new electric Modular Electric Baukasten (MEB) architecture, which will underpin a an entire range of electric vehicles – and could underpin the new electric Beetle.