A Volkswagen board member told German publication Muenchner Merkur that the company wants to stop selling combustion engines in Europe by 2035.
Volkswagen Will Stop Selling Combustion Engine In Europe
Volkswagen’s board member for sales, Klaus Zellmer, told the newspaper the company would “say goodbye to internal combustion engines in Europe between 2033 and 2035.”
But, he added, it would take longer to stop selling combustion engines in the US and China— that will come “somewhat later,” he said— and in South America and Africa, where he said, “it will take a good deal longer.”
Volkswagen’s Carbon-Neutral Targets
According to Zellmer, the whole fleet of the carmaker will be carbon neutral by 2050.
He wants electric vehicles to account for 70% of the company’s European sales by 2030.
Volkswagen’s carbon-neutral targets are close to several competitors; Ford said earlier this year will only sell electric vehicles in Europe by 2030 and plans to spend $1 billion to convert its factory in Cologne, Germany, into an EV production line. And in April, Honda said it plans to phase out gas-powered cars by 2040.
Several European countries have set their deadlines for the phase-out of traditional gas-powered automobiles, with Norway targeting 2025, France 2040, and the United Kingdom 2050.
California, in the United States, proposes to restrict the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.