Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Volkswagen Group strategically engaged with EU, UK, Australian and US climate regulation in 2023-25 with partial alignment with policy pathways aiming to deliver the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The company appears unsupportive of stringent EU CO2 standards and US federal GHG emissions standards, while taking a more positive position on Australia’s CO2 standards.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Volkswagen broadly supported a 1.5°C global warming target and carbon pricing in its 2024 Climate Review, published in May 2025. In its 2024 Annual Report, published in March 2025, Volkswagen also supported the goals of the Paris Agreement but qualified support for government regulation by stating it shouldn't affect competitiveness.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Volkswagen Group consistently advocated for flexibilities in the EU’s CO2 targets for cars and vans, for example, in a November 2024 German lobbying disclosure and a February 2025 meeting with the European Commission. Volkswagen was also supportive of the EU Commission's proposal to weaken the 2025 15% CO2 reduction standard, by spreading compliance over 2025-2027, in March 2025 and May 2025 meetings with the EU Commission. Additionally, in articles published by Politico Pro in March 2025 and The Munich Eye in April 2025, Volkswagen Group’s CEO, Oliver Blume, appeared to be unsupportive of the 2035 100% reduction standard. This was in contrast with Blume’s support for the 2035 standard in March 2024, as reported by Automotive News Europe.
More positively, Volkswagen was supportive of an “ambitious” EU 2040 climate target in a June 2024 German lobbying disclosure. The CEOs of Volkswagen subsidiaries MAN and Scania also positively advocated against a carbon correction factor, which would likely weaken the stringency of EU heavy-duty CO2 targets, in an October 2023 joint letter.
In Australia, Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche supported the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) in March 2024 regulatory comments. Volkswagen also suggested that "a strong NVES is in the best interests of this country" in a March 2024 Reuters article, and further supported the standard in an article published by ABC News in February 2024.
In the US, Volkswagen and its subsidiary Porsche advocated to significantly weaken GHG emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles in 2023 regulatory comments. Volkswagen and Porsche also opposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards in October 2023 regulatory comments. In a June 2023 consultation response, Volkswagen subsidiary Navistar (since rebranded as International Motors) appeared unsupportive of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) US Phase 3 heavy-duty vehicle GHG emission standards.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In the UK, in a September 2023 consultation response, Volkswagen advocated for the UK to delay its internal combustion engine (ICE) phase-out date from 2030 to 2035. In an August 2023 Times article, Volkswagen subsidiaries Seat and Cupra’s CEO criticized the UK's 2030 ICE-phase out date as "dogma". In an October 2024 joint letter, Volkswagen emphasized concerns about meeting the UK zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate without the introduction of further incentives.
In the EU, in a June 2024 German lobbying disclosure Volkswagen appeared unsupportive of a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels by supporting the continued use of gaseous fuels under the power plant strategy. The company was also unsupportive of measures to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles in February 2025 and April 2025 meetings with the European Commission, advocating for a long term role for e-fuels under the EU’s CO2 standards. Volkswagen also emphasized the challenges with the rapid electrification of road transport in a November 2024 Lobbying Disclosure and opposed the EU’s Greening Corporate Fleets Initiative in a June 2024 Lobbying Disclosure.
More positively, Volkswagen supported expanded charging infrastructure under the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation in a June 2024 disclosure. Moreover, in a September 2024 submission to a German ministry, Volkswagen supported a reduction in the VAT rate for electric vehicle purchases for two years.
Industry Association Governance: Volkswagen published a partial account of its industry associations' positions and engagement activities on climate policies in its 2024 Association Climate Review, published in May 2025. Volkswagen has senior executives on the board of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the German Automotive Association (VDA), the Federation of German Industries (BDI), and the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA), which have both positive and negative engagement with climate policy. The company is also a member of numerous negatively engaged industry associations including Business Europe, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA). In March 2024, Volkswagen resigned from the policymaking committee of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), citing misalignments with the group's negative advocacy on fuel efficiency standards, while remaining a member of the association.
A detailed assessment of the company's review of its climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.