VW CEO Oliver Blume is the third manager of a major carmaker to raise concerns for “E-car only” policies, after Toyota’s manager Toyoda, and Stellantis manager Tavarez. Blume has announced what the magazine Focus called “A 180 Degree Turn” in the company policy on Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV). “Our Strategy is that for the time being we will keep thermic engines in the market, because they are very popular in many regions in the world,” Blume told Auto Motor Sport magazine. VW won’t cancel ZEV programs, but will put emphasis on performance and reliability.
Blume took over as VW CEO in September 2022, replacing Herbert Diess after Diess had antagonized the VW board—especially trade unions—with a plan to lay off 30,000 workers as part of his radical “all ZEV” production plans.
