Volkswagen’s boss lays out his electric plans

THE SCRAMBLE to electrify motoring resembles a car race. Tesla and like-minded startups, unencumbered by the legacy of the internal combustion engine (ICE), are surging up the straight. Behind them, jostling for position at the first corner, are the established carmakers, urged on by ever-tightening government deadlines for clean power to supersede fossil fuels. Many are calling time on the ICE. On February 17th Ford’s European division said that it would go all-electric by 2030. Days earlier Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), an Indian-owned firm based in Britain, announced that the posh Jaguar brand would become fully electric by 2025. In January General Motors (GM) promised it would make only zero-emissions cars after 2035.

No one is dedicating more resources to electrification than Volkswagen Group, says Herbert Diess, the German giant’s boss. The company plans to spend around €73bn ($88bn) over the next five years on battery power and digitisation, he says. “The competition is now taking the same decisions,” Mr Diess notes, alluding to rival firms’ pledges.