This may explain VW's claim. "We will come in 2020 with vehicles that can do anything like Tesla " VW forming a JV to run a small autonomous vehicle pilot program in Israel. https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29/18039216/volkswagen-intel-mobileye-self-driving-ride-hailing-israel-2019
I think trying to make sense of VW's mostly meaningless, often wild, and occasionally contradictory claims about all the EVs they're going to be making in the near future -- real soon now! -- is about as pointless as trying to figure out the "reason" why a spree shooter committed mass murder. Trying to find a rational cause for behavior which is utterly irrational, is a waste of time. Does "VW" stand for "Volkswagen" or for "VaporWare"? My impression is that Tesla is continuing to expand its lead in improving EV powertrain tech, while the legacy auto makers are mostly just marking time (spinning their wheels?) and trying to delay the EV revolution as much as they can. It's hard to give an exact figure to how far Tesla is ahead of VW and other legacy auto makers, but my guesstimate is about 7 years ahead... and increasing.
Maybe VW is serious this time. I hope so. But after so many vaporware claims about putting EVs into production, claims which VW very obviously had not the slightest intention of following through, it's hard to take anything they say (about EV production) seriously. The adage "Actions speak louder than words" is especially relevant here. We should watch what VW is actually doing, and not what they're saying.