Peter Sigal, news editor of Automotive News Europe, talks about Volkswagen’s tough decisions in order to regain profitability. Electric vehicle range anxiety decreased due to bigger batteries, but affordability remains a concern for buyers. Plus, Toyota’s Koji Sato looks to standardize commodity components among Japan’s seven automakers.

July 14, 2026 | Peter Sigal talks Volkswagen’s tough decisions; EV range anxiety decreases

Automotive News Daily Drive

[SPEAKER_A] Welcome to Daily Drive for Tuesday, June 14, 2026. I'm Kellen Walker in Las Vegas. Today on the show: Volkswagen weighs building China-developed models at underused German plants to preserve jobs. Toyota's Koji Sato wants Japan's seven automakers to standardize commodity components to free resources for new technologies. And a new consumer survey by consulting firm McKinsey said that range anxiety is rapidly fading as Barrier to U.S. EV adoption with the introduction of bigger batteries. Plus, Automotive News Europe's Peter Sigal offers insight into Volkswagen's tough decisions.

[SPEAKER_B] Straight job cuts and straight factory closures were always going to be a tough sell. It may be the necessary medicine that Volkswagen needs to swallow, but I think the feeling is that if there are any other avenues to explore, and this is not from management's perspective, but from the other some of the other stakeholders, we should try everything else before we resort, because as you know, once you close an automotive factory, it's not opening again.

[SPEAKER_A] Let's run through all the news you need to know to keep up in the auto industry. In order to preserve jobs, Volkswagen is considering building China-developed models at underused German factories. CEO Oliver Blume first publicly raised the idea during VW's first quarter earnings call on April 30th. And it has gained momentum. It would be a strategic reversal that upends Volkswagen's regional product strategy. Three broad scenarios are under discussion, according to people familiar with the matter. The internally preferred option is to build future vehicles based on Volkswagen's China Scalable Platform. Other options involve producing VW models originally developed for China and VW potentially Manufacturing vehicles for Chinese partner XPeng in Germany.

July 14, 2026 | Peter Sigal talks Volkswagen’s tough decisions; EV range anxiety decreases

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

July 14, 2026 | Peter Sigal talks Volkswagen’s tough decisions; EV range anxiety decreases

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.