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The new Golf R, which has been on the market since the start of the year, outperforms all previous Golf R models, boasting 235 kW / 320 PS and a torque of 420 newton metres. To make sure that the power is brought to the road as effectively as possible, Volkswagen’s engineers have developed a new 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with torque vectoring on the rear axle. It forms the basis for the improved vehicle handling of the Golf R, which is setting the standard in its vehicle class.

Volkswagen again invested heavily in future technologies in 2020, spending a total of EUR 2.7 billion during a year overshadowed by Covid-19. The brand is thus laying the foundations for getting its new ACCELERATE strategy off to a successful start. The first milestones will be achieved this year. Volkswagen anticipates a big e-mobility push, with over 450,000 electric vehicles being delivered to customers in 2021, more than double the 2020 figure. Digitalization is being continuously driven forward and Volkswagen will reach the first customers with its business model 2.0 by the summer: testing with subscription models and optional additional functions on demand will begin in six German cities. The brand also expects this to generate hundreds of millions of euros in revenue over the coming years. Online vehicle sales will also start in the summer.

Volkswagen is accelerating its transformation into a software-driven mobility provider. By rolling out the ACCELERATE strategy that it has just unveiled, the company will systematically prepare for the profound changes in the automotive industry in good time. Just as Volkswagen resolutely led the way with its global electric offensive, now it is also accelerating the other big issues of the future: integration of software into the vehicle and the digital customer experience will become crucial core competencies. In implementing data-based business models, the company is seeking to attract new groups of customers and tap additional sources of income. Volkswagen also will make autonomous driving available to many people before the end of the decade. “E-mobility was just the beginning: the real disruption has yet to come. With our strategy we will ACCELERATE towards the digital future,” said Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of Volkswagen. “In the coming years, we will change Volkswagen as never before.”

Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4 models in Europe can now receive new functions and in-depth technical updates via W-LAN or mobile network.The customer's vehicle always remains at the cutting edge of digital developments with the so-called "Over-the-Air" updates. The software version ID.2.1, which establishes the technical prerequisites for "Over-the-Air" updates, is automatically included with all new ID. models produced since calendar week 8.

In the summer of 1976, Volkswagen launched a distinctively sporty Golf onto the market: the GTI. At that time no one at Volkswagen had any idea that the Golf GTI would eventually become the world’s most successful compact sports car. But that is exactly what happened – from production of the 5,000 vehicles that were originally planned to well in excess of 2.3 million today. Now Volkswagen is marking the 45th birthday of this iconic car with an anniversary model: the Golf GTI Clubsport 45 – an exclusive edition of the 221 kW/300 PS Golf GTI Clubsport. Extensive individualisation makes the Clubsport 45 a ready-made collector’s item, even as new. First presales will begin in selected European countries on 1 March. Price in Germany: from 47,790 euros.

Volkswagen’s electric offensive continues to gain momentum: Following the presales of the special edition ID.4 1ST that have already taken place, presales of additional ID.4 models will now also start by mid-February in around 30 European countries including Germany, as well as in the USA. Deliveries to customers are to begin as soon as March in in the European, Chinese and US markets.

The Transparent Factory in Dresden began series production of the fully electric ID.3 today. This makes it the second production site for the ID.3 and already the fourth site in the world producing Volkswagen models based on the Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB). At the same time, Volkswagen is opening a new chapter in the Saxon capital: Over the coming years, the former “Center of Future Mobility” will steadily transform into the “Home of the ID.”

Based on preliminary figures, Volkswagen Passenger Cars has exceeded the ambitious European CO₂ fleet targets for 2020 and produced around six million grams fewer CO₂ than required by law. The passenger car fleet of new vehicles in the European Union achieved average CO₂ emissions of 92g/km – the legal CO₂ target for the brand was 97g/km. As a result, CO₂ emissions fell by 22 percent compared to the previous year.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars has hit the ground running in the transition to electric mobility. “2020 was a turning point for Volkswagen and marked a breakthrough in electric mobility,” said Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars. Last year, the brand delivered more electric vehicles worldwide than ever before, handing over more than 212,000 electric cars in total (+158 percent versus 2019), including nearly 134,000 battery electric vehicles (+197 percent versus 2019). “We are well on track to achieve our aim of becoming the market leader in battery electric vehicles,” Brandstätter continued. “More than any other company, we stand for attractive and affordable e-mobility.”

It’s full speed ahead for the icon of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, the Golf, since all eight derivatives were made available in the fall of 2020. Last year it was once again the top-selling car in Europe with around 312,000 deliveries The Wolfsburg figurehead was once again the top-selling car in Germany last year, too, with around 133,900 deliveries to customers. “In 2020 the Golf is still exactly where it belongs,” says Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars.