Volkswagen says it is committed to the Paris Agreement (on climate change) and is laying the groundwork for sustainable mobility with its electric offensive.

The new ID. concept car (shown here) is due to go into production in Zwickau (Central Germany) at the end of the year.

It will have a key role as the group’s first electric car; it will be CO₂-neutral for its entire life cycle, if the customer consistently charges it with green power.

The group says that the carbon footprint of the ID.’s manufacturing phase will be improved by more than 1 million tonnes of CO₂ per year compared with traditional manufacturing — roughly the impact of a coal-fired power plant that supplies 300,000 households with electricity.

In addition, Volkswagen is working on a comprehensive decarbonisation programme that includes measures for other models; the group says that it will offer more than 20 fully electric models by 2025.

Thomas Ulbrich, the board member responsible for e-mobility, said: “Climate change is the greatest challenge of our times. As the world’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen is assuming responsibility: The new ID. will be the group’s first ‘climate-neutrally produced’ electric car.

"To ensure that it remains emission-free during its life-cycle, we are working on many different ways to use green power. Truly sustainable mobility is feasible, if we all want it and we all work on it.”

Volkswagen (www.volkswagenag.com) has focused the ID.’s entire value chain on avoiding and reducing CO₂ emissions.

The battery cells will be produced in Europe, the energy will come from green power sources, and the potential for more savings in the supply chain (extending all the way back to raw-material production) is being examined with the help of direct and indirect suppliers.

The plant in Zwickau is already using externally produced power from renewable sources.

Unavoidable emissions in the manufacturing process are offset by investments in certified climate projects.

As a result, the ID. will be manufactured CO₂-neutral right from the start.