Volkswagen will go all-electric in Europe by 2035, US to follow shortly after

The days of an engine parked under the hood of a Volkswagen car are coming to a close. VW's head of sales Klaus Zellmer told German newspaper Muenchner Merkur in an interview published Friday its cars will only feature battery-electric power by 2035. He added the end of the internal-combustion engine in the US and China will come a little after that, or "somewhat later," as he told the newspaper.

Volkswagen said in a statement, "We will make our fleet and the entire company carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest. The company has set clear milestones to achieving this in its Accelerate strategy and the Way to Zero program it incorporates. This sees us pursuing what is currently the most ambitious electrification strategy in the volume segment. The goal is for 70% of all new Volkswagen cars in Europe to be fully electric by 2030. This means that Volkswagen will probably produce the last vehicles with internal combustion engines for the European market between 2033 and 2035."

The statement added, "The exit is expected to come slightly later in other parts of the world due to the different pace of transformation and the ongoing lack of clarity in some cases when it comes to the political and infrastructure environment."

Zellmer spoke specifically to South America as a region where an all-electric lineup likely won't make sense for even longer, touching on the "political and infrastructure environment" VW noted in its statement.

Upcoming European emissions regulations will make it mighty difficult to sell a new vehicle with an internal combustion engine in 2035 -- they call for a 100% cut in CO2 emissions. Ford of Europe already announced it too will go all-electric for its upcoming vehicles sold on the continent.

In the US, the federal government hasn't flirted with a phase-out date for the internal-combustion engine, though California plans to end the sale of gas- and diesel-powered cars by 2035, much like Europe. The EPA plans to reveal updated emissions and fuel economy regulations in the coming weeks, when we may see how aggressive the Biden administration plans to be.

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