Volkswagen intends to sell electric vehicles for less than 20,000 euros ($22,836) and safeguard German jobs by converting three factories to make Tesla competitors, a source familiar with the plans stated.
Volkswagen and other automakers are having hard time to adapt quickly enough to strict rules introduced after the automaker was discovered to have cheated diesel emissions tests, with its CEO Herbert Diess warning last month that Germany’s vehicle industry faces extinction.
Strategies for Volkswagen’s electric car, known as “MEB entry” and with a production amount of 200,000 vehicles, are due to be discussed at a supervisory board meeting on November 16, according to the source.
Another vehicle, the I.D. Aero, is going to be constructed in a plant presently making the VW Passat, a mid-sized sedan, the source stated.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the plans. The automaker is also expected to discuss far-reaching alliances with battery cell producer SK Innovation and rival Ford, the source stated.
The November 16 strategy meeting will talk about Volkswagen’s transformation plan to move from being Europe’s largest maker of combustion engine vehicles into a mass manufacturer of electric cars, another source knowledgeable with the deliberations stated.
