Volkswagen set a goal this week to become entirely carbon neutral, including production, by 2050. In addition, the automaker intends to produce 22 million electric vehicles over the next decade, up from an earlier target of 15 million.
Committing to the Paris climate goals, the company says it’s seeking to achieve a carbon dioxide-neutral balance in all areas, including fleet production and administration. In order to get there, Volkswagen set milestones to reach along the way and established a new decarbonization program.
Under the decarbonization program, Volkswagen will be switching to renewable energy for powering their factories and buildings, and offsetting unavoidable emissions, according to Green Car Reports. The company also sees opportunities to reduce emissions in their supply chain, particularly from steel and aluminum.
By 2025, carbon dioxide emissions at all of the automaker’s plants will need to be halved compared to 2010. That same year, Volkswagen wants to have reduced the CO2 footprint of their vehicle fleet by 30% across its lifecycle compared to 2015.
“Expanding e-mobility is an important building block on the road to a CO2-neutral balance,” the company says. Previously Volkswagen had planned to release 50 new electric vehicle models by 2028. Now the company has increased that to nearly 70, the automaker’s leadership announced Tuesday at a media conference in Wolfsburg, Germany.
In order to encourage electric mobility, Volkswagen says the company will collaborate with industry partners to install 400 fast-charging stations along major roads and highways in Europe by 2020. In addition, the automaker says there will be 3,500 charging points in employee parking lots at all of their plants, with additional charging opportunities at dealerships.
“Volkswagen is seeking to provide individual mobility for millions of people for years to come — individual mobility that is safer, cleaner and fully connected,” said Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG. “In order to shoulder the investments needed for the electric offensive, we must make further improvements in efficiency and performance in all areas.”
