Volkswagen invests in electric

If you’re not yet familiar with the acronym PEV, it may be time to learn it. PEV stands for Plug-in Electric Vehicle, and while it does not yet account for a significant portion of overall auto sales today, Volkswagen is making a commitment to aide its viability in the future.

Addressing the 2015 Electric Drive conference in Washington DC, Jörg Sommer, vice president of product marketing and strategy for Volkswagen of America, urged lawmakers to take action towards promoting more environmentally conscious vehicles.

He said, “automakers have effectively delivered electric vehicles that can satisfy the needs of most American drivers.” Adding, “In addition to the investment we and other companies and industries are making, we would like to see Federal financing support for establishing fast charging networks in urban areas and interstate corridors. We’d like to see more state and federal organizations commit to cleaner fleets by purchasing EVs and PHEVs. This should be a U.S. Government priority, and federal purchasing guidelines should reflect that by giving fleet purchasers the flexibility they need,” Sommer said.  “We need further congressional support with the mid-term review of the EPA’s greenhouse gas regulation to extend the multiplier credits for plug-in vehicles beyond MY21”.

This graphic displays the growth in sales of electric vehicles since being introduced in 2010. It is worth noting that Volkswagen’s E-Golf is part of the Golf family that recently won Motortrend’s Car of the Year for 2015.

Graphicsource: electricdrive.org

Volkswagen backed up Sommer’s words by announcing their own commitment to the future of electric vehicles. That includes a $10 million commitment to support electric vehicle infrastructure by 2016. The main focus of this investment is to install a number of “fast charging” stations along heavily traveled East and West Coast corridors. They put out a press release detialing exactly how Volkswagen invests in electric.

From Volkswagen’s press release:

Sommer discussed the programs that Volkswagen has invested in including the recently announced initiative with Chargepoint to support development of express charging corridors along heavily-traveled routes on the East and West Coasts. Designed to increase the number of fast charging locations, the initiative will help meet the large and growing demand for convenient, publicly available electric vehicle fast chargers, including direct current (DC) Fast charging locations, and support the adoption of electric vehicles in the United States. The goal of the Chargepoint program is to install nearly 100 DC Fast Chargers across both coasts aiming to have charging sites no more than 50 miles apart.

This investment is one piece of a $10 million commitment Volkswagen has announced to support the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The company will also invest to support installation of charging stations in certain dealer locations. To facilitate local, state and regional infrastructure deployment, Sommer suggested that the regulators will also need to support programs that reinforce these efforts to support mass electric vehicle adoption including the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program and the Department of Transportation’s MAP-21 program.

Sommer explained the Volkswagen Group’s global commitment to become more environmentally conscious from sourcing, to manufacturing, to the cars on the road and beyond.  This commitment has been a guide in Volkswagen of America’s holistic approach to e-mobility and the launch of the e-Golf. Through strategic collaborations, the company addressed the forward thinking lifestyle and preferences of the EV customer: Volkswagen of America (VWoA) teamed with 3Degrees, a renewable energy and carbon offset services provider. Under a carbon reduction/offset program, Volkswagen will help offset the e-Golf greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from its production, distribution and from the estimated emissions produced from keeping the vehicle charged through the initial 36,000 miles of the vehicle’s life.

Other initiatives supporting VWoA’s holistic approach include an arrangement with SunPower to provide qualified U.S. Volkswagen e-Golf customers the opportunity to install a high performance solar system. In addition, e-Golf customers will have the opportunity to purchase home charging installation and hardware packages from Bosch.

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