Volkswagen Group, focus on batteries and regions for sustainable growth
The Group presented its 2022 financial results: solid performance, growing BEV deliveries and clear objectives for the future, supported by major investments largely in electric mobility - with a focus on developing the battery business - and digitization.
Revenues and profits up, despite a contraction in volumes tied to the supply chain bottlenecks and the challenges resulting from rising raw material and energy costs; sales of 100% electric vehicles growing steadily, to 572,100 units (+26% compared to 2021), and a record BEV share: 7% of total deliveries. The performance in 2022 confirms the robustness of the Volkswagen Group's business model, which consistently pursues its strategy.
This is also confirmed by the investment planning for the five-year period 2023-2027: 180 billion euros in the most attractive profit pools, more than two thirds of which (68%) will flow into the future fields of electrification and digitization. An important signal, considering that in the previous plan this share was 56%.
E-mobility
In 2022, the Volkswagen Group confirmed its position as BEV market leader in Europe and continued to grow in China; the new models coming this year will provide further momentum and improve the Group's positioning. Already by 2025, it is expected that one in five vehicles sold worldwide will be 100% electric.
Besides product, the focus is on the battery business: the expansion of the activities of PowerCo, the Volkswagen Group’s start-up dedicated to this specific area, is a priority, and will enable the localisation of cell production, creating a new value chain.
Gigafactory for battery cells
It is precisely in this context that the announcement of the location of a further gigafactory for the production of battery cells fits in: it will be the first outside Europe and will be located in Canada, in St. Thomas (Ontario). This is the third gigafactory owned by the Volkswagen Group and will join those in Salzgitter (Germany) and Valencia (Spain). Production is scheduled to start in 2027.
Once more, the determining factors for the choice of location were the local availability of raw materials and green electricity. The construction of the gigafactory in St. Thomas is part of a broader plan agreed by the Volkswagen Group with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last summer, which aims to promote electric mobility in the country.
North America...
The North American region is one of the 10 points of the strategic plan of Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group. In 2022, the Group marked important milestones in particular in the US: from strengthening the management team to the start of Volkswagen ID.4 production at the Chattanooga (Tennessee) plant and the announcement that the Scout brand will deliver its first 100% electric vehicles to customers in 2026.
The strategy for the US market is to increase the Group's share to 10% of the global market by 2030, up from 4% today. Range expansion will be key to growth: by 2030, it is planned to launch more than 25 BEV models of Volkswagen Group brands, including the ID.7 and ID. Buzz in 2024.
...and China
And equally important for business development will be the Chinese market - another of the 10 points of Oliver Blume's strategic plan. Here, the Volkswagen Group has already implemented an 'in China for China' approach, which has led to the further extension of local partnerships focused on the development of specific technologies for Chinese customers.
The importance of China will increase further in the coming decade, particularly in the field of electric mobility.
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