Volkswagen CEO: 20,000-euro EV could come in second half of decade

Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) has not made a decision on producing a 20,000-euro ($21,714.00) electric car yet, but Chief Executive Oliver Blume is convinced that the company can get there by the second half of the decade, he said at a conference on Wednesday.

The main lever to reduce prices of electric cars is reducing battery costs, Blume said at the Sueddeutsche Zeitung Wirtschaftsgipfel conference in Berlin, pointing to the company’s plans to produce a unified battery cell that it says will reduce battery costs by half.

Volkswagen laid out the details in March of an all-electric car under development for 25,000 euros, to launch by 2025 with a 450-km range and a battery charging from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in around 20 minutes.

The company had said at the time it was working on a 20,000-euro vehicle, but did not provide further information.

“We have a responsibility to bring the right products at the right price onto the market,” Blume said.

“After early adopters were reached with electric cars, we now need consumers to be convinced by the technology, who don’t have the opportunity to install a charging station at home.”

The pressure of inflation, a lack of charging infrastructure and the removal of subsidies were also holding back electric car demand, Blume said.

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