VW to Phase Out More than 40 Models?

Volkswagen Group plans to trim its current array of 340 passenger vehicle models by more than 40 over the next several years, sources tell Handelsblatt.

But most those eliminated models presumably will be replaced by the more than 30 new electric vehicles VW said last week it intends to introduce by 2025 under its new Together—Strategy 2025.

The company confirms it will discontinue some models. But it tells Reuters the number has not been determined.

Berndt Osterloh, the company’s top labor representative, said last November that VW planned to reduce the number of VW brand models and trim packages by an unspecified amount. He said at the time the leaner lineup could save the unit some €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) in such areas as logistics without eliminating jobs in Germany.