Volkswagen hasn’t had the easiest of rides since the diesel emissions scandal broke, recently announcing that some 30 000 jobs are expected to be shed. But now the Wolfsburg brand has revealed plans to “comprehensively reposition” itself, first with a slew of SUVs and then by betting big on electric cars.
VW is calling its long-term plan “Transform 2025+”, saying the new strategy will focus on clearer brand positioning, backed by “significant improvements in efficiency and productivity”.
And it seems a tweaked slogan will come along with this shift: “Volkswagen: Moving People Forward”.
Dr Herbert Diess, chairman of the Volkswagen brand board of management, promised a major transformation.
“Our goals are high and our strategy is very ambitious. We want to benefit from change and to take Volkswagen into the lead in the new automobile industry with determination,” Diess said.
“Over the next few years, Volkswagen will change radically. Very few things will stay as they are. In the final resort, the new strategy is a major transformation programme,” he added.
VW says a key element of its new strategy is its positioning at the top end of the volume segment, “near to the premium competitors”. To date, Volkswagen says it has only achieved its objective of becoming “top of volume” in China and Europe.
“In future, Volkswagen aims to achieve this position throughout the world through a realignment of product strategy – with an SUV offensive in the first stage and the electrification wave in the second stage. A further element of the new strategy is a uniform global brand system with a new design concept,” the brand said in a statement.
“From 2020, we will be launching our major e-mobility offensive. As a volume manufacturer, we intend to play a key role in the breakthrough of the electric car. We are not aiming for niche products but for the heart of the automobile market,” explained Diess.
“By 2025, we want to sell a million electric cars per year and to be the world market leader in e-mobility. Our future electric cars will be the new trademark of Volkswagen,” said the brand’s CEO.
Interestingly, VW also revealed that this e-mobility offensive would be financed by a number of measures, including the “discontinuation of certain low-volume, low-earnings conventional models and model variants” (something we’ve reported on before).
Diess furthermore revealed that, in the North American market, Volkswagen planned to “evolve from a niche supplier into a relevant and profitable volume producer”.
“We will be significantly stepping up our activities in the USA. The main focus will be on the key segments in the country, large SUVs and limousines. In those segments, we will be strongly expanding our range. In a second stage, we will then take our new electric cars to North America,” said Diess.
VW says this strategic offensive will be supported by a “comprehensive organisational reform”, with the aim of agility, a stronger entrepreneurial spirit, a more transparent discussion culture, flatter hierarchies and more flexible working models.
