Volkswagen has been using the emissions-cheating scandal as a catalyst for deeper reforms. The VW brand, the German carmaker’s biggest unit, was struggling even before the crisis, and the company is now in discussions with unions over concessions in exchange for investment guarantees and agreements to retrain workers in the transition away from traditional combustion engines.
The I.D. concept is a flag bearer for VW’s new direction. The battery-powered hatchback, which Volkswagen is likening to groundbreaking models like the Beetle and the Golf, boasts a range almost twice as far as Tesla Motors Inc.’s Model 3 sedan.
As part of the transformation, Volkswagen is also pushing into services like ride-hailing and self-driving shuttles. The company said the new services division would be its 13th brand, putting it on the same footing as Audi, Porsche and Skoda and underscoring its ambitions. The shift in direction puts Volkswagen on collision course with a new kind of competitor.
“We are mainly targeting with this new product -- which is always online and only electric -- the new competitors like Tesla could be or Apple might be or some others,” said Diess, who joined Volkswagen from BMW AG a few months before the crisis erupted in September 2015. “The good times will start with the new age of mobility.”
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