Volkswagen has said the competitiveness of electric vehicles and persuading consumers are more important than Europe’s debate over regulations on combustion-engine cars.

InsideEVs, an electric-vehicle news outlet, reported on June 5 that Martin Sander (마르틴 잔더), Volkswagen’s board member in charge of sales, marketing and aftersales, said consumers will ultimately accept that EVs are better than gasoline cars.

Sander compared Europe’s ongoing debate over banning combustion engines to the transition from horses to cars. In an interview, he asked, "When were horses banned? When was buying a horse banned?" He said people can still buy horses, but everyone judged gasoline cars were more convenient as a means of transport, and EVs will go through the same process.

Volkswagen’s message is to shift the debate away from regulation and toward consumer benefits. Sander said "all barriers must be removed" and that actually persuading customers requires expanding charging infrastructure, describing the advantages of EVs in a positive way and taking steps related to energy prices. He added that, over time, more customers will choose EVs.

The remarks come as the European Union’s plan to ban sales of combustion-engine cars in 2035 has been eased. The EU initially pushed to block sales of new combustion-engine cars from 2035, but the rules were ultimately softened. From the mid-2030s, vehicles that emit harmful exhaust gases can still be sold, but automakers must cut carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent compared with 2021. As a result, some combustion-engine models can survive in a limited way.

Volkswagen is keeping a strategy of offering combustion engines, mild hybrids, full hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles together. It plans to respond to regulations by running multiple powertrains in parallel rather than relying on a single solution during the electrification shift.

Its product strategy follows the same direction. Volkswagen recently unveiled the small hatchback electric car ID. Polo. It is set to be sold alongside the existing-generation gasoline Polo. The ID.4 faces a large update, and the ID.7 sedan and wagon are delivering a certain level of results in the European market.

Volkswagen, however, ruled out plans to bring to Europe the range-extender EV technology it uses in China. Sander said, "There is a market in China. But in Germany or Europe right now, I do not really see that opportunity," adding that the current lineup already secures the driving range needed to compete.

Ultimately, Volkswagen is putting more weight on first securing the conditions needed to expand EV sales in Europe, rather than assuming an immediate exit for combustion-engine cars. Charging infrastructure, energy costs and expanding electrified models remain key variables in its future strategy for the European market.