The Volkswagen group is investing heavily in research into electric vehicles. Part of the five billion Euros spent annually on R&D is in this domain, and much of the work is carried out in the company’s Electrics Research Laboratory in California , the largest research bureau outside of Volkswagen’s home country. European, Chinese and Japanese plants complement this research. Volkswagen head Martin Winterkorn recently explained that the Touareg hybrid would be launched this year, followed by the Jetta hybrid in 2012. Speaking of the company’s presence in the United States, Winterkorn said: “Our goal is to turn VW into the leading volume brand here as well”.

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