Volkswagen to halt models powered by natural gas. (picture alliance / dpa)
Volkswagen is to halt production of models powered by natural gas in the face of limited demand, VW development head Frank Welsch has said.
"There will be no successors to these cars," Welsch told Monday's business daily Handelsblatt. "Market acceptance has not risen," he said, adding that there was little prospect of a change.
According to the report, VW is to focus on its electric-powered vehicles in the transition away from petrol and diesel engines. The group is also turning away from hydrogen and synthetic fuels for its series production.
There were a few small research projects on these power sources at VW subsidiary Audi, Welsch told the paper.
"But if we want to take the shift in mobility and environmental targets seriously, we must focus on battery-powered electric vehicles. Anything else is a waste of limited renewable energy," he added.
In June last year, the same newspaper reported that, of the almost 11 million vehicles sold worldwide by the VW Group in 2018, fewer than 100,000 were powered by natural gas. Of the almost 60 million vehicles on Germany's roads, fewer than 100,000 had a natural gas power unit.
Stung by the emissions scandal that broke over its diesel vehicles in the United States in September 2015, and in the face of public anger over its response, VW is making a rapid transition away from diesel in particular.
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