As part of a new initiative meant help improve air quality in the region, Volkswagen has now delivered 50 new all-electric e-Golfs to residents in Hamburg, according to a new press release.
The 50 Volkswagen e-Golfs in question were to delivered to a variety of Hamburg government employees, members of the general public, and businesses.
Speaking at an official ceremony for the deliveries, Ludger Fretzen, Head of Group Strategy for New Business of the Volkswagen Group, commented: “With these 50 e-Golf cars the new owners make a contribution for better air quality. The objective of our partnership with Hamburg is to make urban mobility more environmentally compatible and more efficient. That is also in line with our Roadmap E.”
None of this sounds all that important or ambitious, right? Well, that’s in keeping with the just mentioned “Roadmap E” timeline that Volkswagen is currently following — which calls for just a quarter of the company’s sales to be of plug-in electric vehicles by 2025.
Now, some might say that’s actually a fairly ambitious target, but it really isn’t when one takes a look at broader market trends. Or, for that matter, when one considers the substantial air pollution problems facing the Germany and many other countries where Volkswagen sells large numbers of cars.
Anyway, you’re free to disagree with me … but it seems to be the case that Volkswagen execs are now standing to lose significant market share over the coming decade.
With regard to the news above, the press release provides more: “Over the next 3 years, these 50 people are expected to drive around 1.5 million kilometers through Hamburg with the silent, zero emission e-Golf. The initiative is part of the partnership between the Volkswagen Group and the City of Hamburg. Through this initiative, the Group is also making a contribution to the nationwide penetration of e-mobility in Germany.
“The 50 e-Golf were handed over as part of the partnership between the Volkswagen Group and the City of Hamburg. Together, the partners aim to shape the sustainable urban mobility of the future and are committed to the use of electric drives for both passenger cars and buses. The use of these 50 electric cars under the e-Drive Hamburg 2018 program is supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.”
You’re probably asking why I chose to cover this somewhat unimportant press release. Mostly, I did simply to draw attention to the discrepancy between the announcements being made by Volkswagen, Daimler, etc., and those firms that are seemingly serious about the electric vehicle market — Tesla, Hyundai, etc.
It seems that for every announcement about a Tesla Semi, or a long-range electric Hyundai Kona SUV, we also get a fluff announcement from Volkswagen or complaints about competition from an exec at Daimler. It really makes you wonder…
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