Volkswagen CEO says EV outlook is ‘very good,’ expects to reduce delivery times this year

An ID. Buzz photographed at a plant in Hanover, Germany, on June 16, 2022. Supply chain constraints — including those related to semiconductors — have been a major challenge for automakers in recent times.

Volkswagen's CEO said delivery times for electric vehicles will get shorter as the year goes on.

Herbert Diess said on Thursday that the outlook is very good.

In recent times, supply chain constraints have proved to be a major challenge for the automotive industry.

Five assembly plants are coming into production now because we have a lead time of a year or so.

In London, Volkswagen shares traded up 5%. The stock price has fallen over the course of the year.

In the second half of the year we will be able to reduce delivery times for our EV. In Europe and the US there is high demand.

The Semiconductors were still a problem, but they were likely to be solved soon. He said that they would see an improvement through the next few weeks.

On the same day that his company broke ground on a cell factory, he launched a battery company called Power Co. Powerco would be responsible for global battery activities of the Volkswagen Group.

Up to 20,000 people are expected to be employed in Europe in the period up to the year 2030.

VW wants 70% of its European revenue by the year 2030. It wants at least 50% of revenue from EV in China and North America.

The Scout brand will be re-launched as a fully-electric pick-up and "rugged" SUV with prototypes due to be revealed in 2023 and production planned to begin in 2026.

The ID Buzz is an electric vehicle that is inspired by the T1 Microbus.