Volkswagen Committed To More Electric Vehicles By 2020 – Part Redemption, Part Business Decision

With Volkswagen’s reputation in tatters in the wake of the diesel emission scandal that rocked the world last year, the auto company is slowly rebuilding its image one step at a time. One of the ways it aims to do this that would likely have a significant impact on how customers view the company is its intention to build electric cars in America by 2020.

After becoming known as the company that cheated during emissions tests done involving their diesel models, Volkswagen has a lot of ground to cover in order to rebuild its brand. Thanks to the announcement made by the newly appointed head of Volkswagen of America Hinrich Woebcken, the automaker will be making environmentally friendly vehicles on American soil, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The facilities under consideration to do the actual building include the plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. and a Mexican production facility. As for what kinds of models would be built, there weren’t too many specifics, but Woebcken confirmed that they would be making several.

“We believe that this country, especially in urban mobility, will have a very strong shift from petrol engines into hybridization and electric cars,” Woebcken said. “We are heavily investing in this one—including production in this North American region.”

With that statement, it would seem that this move is more than just an olive branch extended towards regulators who have been at the auto maker’s heels like pit-bulls, but also a sound business decision with predictive models involving the future of the car market. Forbes reports as much when Woebcken explained how he plans to make Volkswagen an exalted name in the U.S. again and pointed to an XUV model that will be part of a new fleet to be presented soon.

“Customers will like this one,” Woebcken said of the vehicle. “It’s a tough segment to be against Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot, but look what we’ve done.”