Millions of electric cars in 2030?
VW works council boss calls for more support from Berlin
February 26, 2024, 10:18 p.m
Will Germany manage to get millions of electric cars on the road in the next few years? VW works council leader Cavallo is skeptical. “Politicians must also support this, not just make guidelines that are correct,” she says. She considers moving away from the planned phase-out of combustion engines in 2035 to be “fatal”.
VW works council boss Daniela Cavallo is calling on the federal government to provide more support for the ramp-up of electromobility. “Politics must also support this, not just make guidelines that are correct,” said Cavallo in Berlin. Otherwise, the goal of having 15 million electric cars on the road in Germany by 2030 can hardly be achieved. “This is a huge challenge and requires that the plan be gradually developed further.” But she doesn’t see that at the moment.
The short-term end of e-car funding last year did not help here, nor did discussions about openness to technology. This only creates new uncertainty, criticized Cavallo. Companies need planning security in order to be able to switch to electricity. She therefore considers it wrong to move away from the planned phase-out of combustion engines in 2035. “That would be disastrous. I am critical if there is now a discussion that the plan should perhaps be watered down.”
With regard to his own brand, Cavallo admitted that an affordable entry-level electric model is still missing. “In my opinion, we absolutely need a vehicle under 20,000 euros,” she said. “Volkswagen is a company that should offer broad mobility. And to that extent we are missing that in our portfolio and it is absolutely necessary.” According to the works council boss, it will take “a few more years” until such a vehicle comes along. VW has announced an electric model for 2026 for under 25,000. The brand has not yet given a date for a model under 20,000 euros, which is also being worked on.
Cavallo was also dissatisfied with the still low proportion of women in upper management. “We have to work on that,” said Cavallo, who is herself the first woman to head the group works council. “But it’s a long way.” IT director Hauke Stars is currently the only woman on the group board. It will probably be a long time before there can even be a female CEO, Cavallo admitted. “I don’t know if I’ll live to see that.”