Volkswagen to Focus on Hybrids and EVs; Will Also Revamp Diesel Program

CBC reported that Volkswagen AG (ETR:VOW3) plans to cut costs by C$1.5 billion within the year and focus more heavily on developing hybrid and electric vehicles. The company also plans to revamp its diesel program by switching to a new technology.
While the platinum price has been hurt by news of the recent Volkswagen scandal, some expect the incident to help bolster prices for metals like graphite, lithium and cobalt in the long term. Those metals are used in the lithium-ion batteries required by electric vehicles.
As quoted in the market news:

Herbert Diess, head of the VW unit, said changes to the diesel engine technology would be made “as soon as possible.”
“We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus, and we are creating room for forward-looking technologies by speeding up the efficiency program,” Diess said.
The focus on electric and hybrid vehicles may be smart, given the loss of confidence in diesel likely to arise from the scandal.
“There is a real chance for VW to even extract something positive from the diesel fiasco,” said Stefan Bratzel, head of the Center of Automotive Management think-tank near Cologne.
“Funnelling more resources into electric mobility gives them a credible future perspective to try to overcome this crisis.”

Click here to read the full CBC report.