VW’s Flagship Brand Vows Faster Turnaround with Electric Cars

Volkswagen AG’s main car brand pledged to speed up turnaround efforts and accelerate a push into electric cars as cost cuts and an expanding lineup of sport-utility vehicles help boost profit.

The namesake VW brand will initially develop five all-electric models, taking on Tesla Inc. with its coming I.D. vehicle range, it said Nov. 30 at a press conference at its headquarters in Wolfsburg.

The push will be aided by rising profit margins, which are now targeted to reach between 4 percent and 5 percent of sales in 2020, up from a previous estimate of at least 4 percent.

“We ...