BERLIN—Volkswagen new CEO, Oliver Blume, endorsed his predecessor’s ambitious electric-vehicle strategy on his first day in the job but said traditional combustion engines could also play a role in the company’s effort to reduce its vehicles’ greenhouse-gas emissions.
Mr. Blume said that while he backed VW’s EV push and might even accelerate it, VW would likely also produce vehicles with low-carbon combustion engines for many years to come.