Volkswagen plans to sell 1 million electric cars this year, significantly ramping up its push in the market as it seeks to rival Tesla and keep traditional rivals at bay. The German manufacturer said on Tuesday that it aims to become the global electric vehicle market leader by 2025. Europe’s largest vehicle maker is overhauling its sprawling operations to free up funds for new technologies as it plans to build the industry’s largest fleet of electric vehicles. The Audi division, which leads the group’s software expansion, saw operating profit decline to €2.7 billion from €4.5 billion. Porsche, the group’s most profitable brand, emerged from the pandemic largely unscathed with €4 billion in operating profit, compared with €4.2 billion in the previous year.

Source: The Irish Times March 16, 2021 13:02 UTC