Martin Winterkorn
Volkswagen will unveil its first electric car by 2013, said CEO Martin Winterkorn on Friday. Winterkorn espouses the electric car movement, but has previously mentioned that he thinks it will take 15 to 20 years before EVs comprise a significant fraction of the market.
That won't stop VW from forging ahead with plans to control 1.0 to 1.5% of the global EV market by 2020. "We are going to use our New Small Family line to offer our first electric vehicle in 2013. And in 10 years at the latest we want to offer a large number of all-electric vehicles at affordable prices and with the autonomy that our clients expect," Winterkorn said.
VW put the wheels of their electric car plan in motion earlier this year when they inked a deal with Toshiba in February to develop EV motors. Shortly thereafter, in May, the German automaker signed a preliminary agreement with Chinese EV maker, Build Your Dreams to make hybrid and electric cars.
Das electricity.
Sources: AFP, Autoblog Green
