Volkswagen (VW) has vowed to only produce electric cars in Europe from 2033.

This is an earlier commitment made by boss Thomas Schaefer than its previous aim of 2035 – and includes all brands managed by the German automaker.

Streamlining the process to only electric vehicles (EVs) would cut down the models on offer and increase the profit margin for VW, SEAT and Skoda by 8%, Schaefer said.

On the number of cars VW produces, he commented: “We have historically a lot of waste in the system we can take out. The focus is a clear standard across the brands and full scale. The only company that can scale on this territory at the moment is us.”

Standardising the batteries used in all its EVs has also been a critical part of the company’s thinking – as it looks to produce an EV for the market that is priced at less than €25,000 (£21,500).

“If you have 30-40 different battery cell and pack formats, it’s unmanageable,” he added.