The new chief executive of Volkswagen says that the automaker will accelerate its transition towards electric vehicles.
While speaking with a gathering of top global VW managers on his first day in his new job, Oliver Blume revealed that he has developed a ten-point plan for the automaker’s future.
“I am a fan of e-mobility and I stand by this path,” he said. “We will keep the current pace and, where possible, increase it.”
Volkswagen has made clear its ambition to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by 2025 and wants EVs to account for half of its global vehicle sales by 2030.
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Blume added that the car manufacturer needs to find the right rhythm for a stable transformation by defining and following a clear strategy.
Reuters notes that some questions were raised over Blume’s appointment to the top job at Volkswagen given that he has been a strong advocate for synthetic fuels while serving as the chief executive of Porsche. During a recent interview with German newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung he allayed these concerns and said e-fuels remains “primarily a topic for Porsche.”
Blume was announced as the new Chairman of the Group Board of Management at Volkswagen in late July and will take over from Herbert Diess.
While at the helm of the Volkswagen Group, Diess led its electric vehicle transition but upset board members with his single-minded approach and push for radical changes that he said would help VW better compete with Tesla. It is understood that the powerful Porsche and Piech families ultimately played a significant role in ousting him as the head of the company.
