Speaking before the Geneva Motor Show, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn said the manufacturer was on schedule to reach its self-imposed 120g/km average CO2 target by 2015, beating the EU’s 130g/km limit by 12g/km.

In the meantime, two thirds of its 50.2bn investment in the meantime will be put into efficient technologies, powertrains and vehicles, as well as environmentally friendly production, with a target of becoming the world’s most environmentally sustainable carmaker by 2018. Technology from the 313mpg XL1 diesel-electric hybrid could also be used in other series-produced models, he said.

‘Volkswagen is committing to reducing the CO2 output of the European new car fleet to 95 grams per kilometre by 2020,’ Winterkorn explained. ‘That corresponds to a fuel consumption of less than 4 litres [per 100km] – across all segments and vehicle classes. This is a Herculean task calling for the best efforts of all our 40,000 developers. We can do it.’