Big spenders aim to drive down carbon emissions

摘要

OEMs continue to increase their investment in research and development as they look to reduce tailpipe emissions and meet new CO_2 targets. Nearly €25 billion was spent by Europe's main vehicle manufacturers over the past 12 months to develop more efficient combustion engines and electrified powertrains, Volkswagen was the biggest spender, investing €8.8 billion in 2012 on more efficient technologies, an increase of €1.5 billion on the previous year, Battery development is one of the most important areas for the firm. VW chairman Dr Martin Winterkorn said: "Total research and development costs for 2012 in the automotive division increased by 32,l%year-on-year. Alongside new models, the main focus was on the electrification of our vehicle portfolio and increasing the efficiency of our range of engines. Alternative drive technologies accounted for an increasing proportion too."