Futuristic R&D world champion
VW invests most in developing new ideas.
The German car maker Volkswagen hasn’t yet managed to build a warp drive, and we will have to wait a while before we can beam ourselves straight from the driver’s seat to the living room couch. Nevertheless, VW’s new models are not out of place next to its futuristic advertising figures from the starship Enterprise, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr Spock (Leonard Nimoy). The XL1 is the world’s first 1-litre car (fuel consumption: 1 litre per 100 km), and the e-Golf is fully electric. According to a study by the strategy& consultancy, the company is the absolute world leader when it comes to spending on new ideas: VW is investing 13.5 billion US dollars in research and development in 2014 – more than any other company. The runners-up are Samsung (Korea) and Intel and Microsoft (USA). German companies are also top of the table when it comes to expenditure growth compared to 2013: plus 11.3%. The average increase worldwide is 1.4%. Other top-ranked German corporations were Daimler, Siemens and BMW.
