“We’re not burnt out because we can’t build cars…we’re really burnt out for electric cars because the demand is higher than expected,” CEO Herbert Diess told the Financial Times at its automotive conference on Monday.
Last week the company, which owns several brands including Porsche and Audi, said it had a order book of 300,000 EVs in Western Europe alone.
Customers placing orders now in select markets can expect to receive their cars next year, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business.
The Volkswagen Group sold more than 99,000 electric vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, up 65% from the same period last year. Its most popular cars included its ID.3 and ID.4 models, and the Audi e-tron.
Supply issues ease
But Diess said the company, which has several parts suppliers in Ukraine, still managed to get about 90% of its supply volumes from those factories.
“I am optimistic that even in these really difficult circumstances with Covid in China, the war in Ukraine and still some constraints related to semiconductors, 2022 could still be a good year for us and the rest of the industry,” said Diess.
— Laura He contributed reporting.