VW Group to invest 34 billion euros in e-mobility, AD, digital networking

The Volkswagen Group is to invest more than 34 billion euros (Rs 2.7 lakh crore) in future technologies like e- mobility, autonomous driving and digital networking of all road users and new mobility services by 2022.

“We want to redefine urban mobility, and to that end, we are systematically focusing on people and their needs, and not primarily on technology,” said Matthias Müller, the Volkswagen Group CEO at the Group's Media Night on the eve of the Geneva International Motor Show.

According to United Nations forecasts, almost 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2050. More than 80 percent of global GDP is generated in cities.

Commenting on the same, Müller said,“The future of mobility lies first and foremost in cities and metropolitan areas. That is where the most pressing problems are to be found – and where both the need and the potential for change are at their greatest.”

'Future Heads' face the future beyond 2030
According to Volkswagen, there are fundamental differences between the world’s metropolitan areas. To come up with solutions for future individual mobility that would be tailored as precisely as possible to the different needs, a team at Volkswagen Group Research, comprising 200 experts from all departments and brands, works on the most important trends and scenarios. These 'Future Heads' take a look into the future of individual mobility – in the year 2030 and far beyond.

In San Francisco, for example, EVs will spread rapidly due to a tech-savvy, eco-friendly population. Some 130 million people will already live in the Beijing metropolitan area in 2030, and they will need dedicated expressways for autonomous vehicles. Passenger drones could even take people to their destination in the more distant future. And in Mumbai with its chronically overloaded transport system, innovative rapid buses, e-mobility zones and new shared mobility concepts will bring relief.

Partnerships with cities to incubate mobility solutions
The findings from the Futures of Mobility project are put to pragmatic use in planning and developing future products and services from the Volkswagen Group. The company sees itself as a partner for cities. A wide range of very different projects and services are developed, tested and implemented under dozens of city partnerships – from Barcelona to Stockholm, from Somerville in the U.S. to Shanghai.

Volkswagen will launch its 'WeDeliver' service in Hamburg, too. MOIA (the newest company in the Volkswagen Group) will begin testing its ride pooling service in the city this year, using an all-electric 6-seater shuttle developed in-house. Initially, the fleet in Hamburg will comprise of 200 vans. Looking to the future, up to 1,000 MOIA shuttles could take to the roads in Hamburg. Plans for other cities are in the pipeline.

Matthias Muller, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, and Dr Till Reuter, CEO of Kuka AG., with CarLa, the first mobile charging robot for automobiles, at the VW Group Media Night.

'CarLa' – the first charging robot for electric automobiles
Together, with the automation specialist Kuka, the Volkswagen Group presented 'CarLa', the first mobile charging robot for automobiles, at the Group Media Night.

Use of such fully automated service robots in public spaces and at home will make a key contribution to boosting the acceptance of e-mobility. CarLa automatically begins charging the vehicle once it has been parked – preferably autonomously. With this joint project, the two companies are demonstrating how charging can function fast, simply and autonomously. And CarLa has the potential to become the industry standard. Both companies plan to extend the research cooperation to the pilot production stage.

“People will only accept this technology if they can charge their vehicles quickly, easily and conveniently. I am convinced that the future belongs to service robots like CarLa. And I am delighted that Kuka and the Volkswagen Group are the trailblazers,” Müller said.

E-mobility picking up speed in all segments
The Volkswagen Group wants to help e-mobility achieve the breakthrough in all segments. The company already has 8 electric cars and plug-in hybrids in its program. They will be joined this year by the Audi e-tron, the brand’s first electric SUV with a range of 500 kilometres. The Porsche Mission E and the first VW I.D. will follow in 2019. The eCrafter from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is to be launched this fall. The first electric city buses from MAN and Scania go into test operation before the end of this year, with series production commencing in 2019. In Müller’s words: “We are putting ‘Roadmap E’ on the road. Swiftly and decisively.”

Summing up, Müller said: “In spite of all the challenges, particularly those we are facing in cities, we want to be part of the solution. I am convinced that the Volkswagen Group with its 12 brands is better placed to achieve that than any other mobility group. Because as a group, we have the dimension and the globality to really change things. Because today, we already reflect almost every facet of mobility: from the motorbike to the city bus, from budget to luxury. And because – irrespective of all the love of cars that makes us who we are and defines our success – we have understood that, ultimately, technology is always only a means to an end.”