Photo courtesy of VW.

Photo courtesy of VW.

Volkswagen will begin equipping its gasoline-powered models with particulate filters starting in June of 2017 to reduce emissions by as much as 90%, the automaker has announced.

At that time, Volkswagen will equip new TSI and TFSI engines with the filters. The initiative will begin with the 1.4L TSI engine in the new Tiguan and Audi A5. As many as 7 million Volkswagen vehicles could be equipped with this technology each year by 2022.

The announcement came at the annual shareholder meeting with the unveiling of Together: Strategy 2025 blueprint for the next decade. Matthias Muller, CEO of Volkswagen AG, also reiterated the company's shift toward electrification and said 2016 will be "a year of transition" as it deals with the fallout of its diesel emissions scandal. Senior management will be "paying very close attention to our costs," Muller said.

Volkswagen plans to roll out more than 30 fully electric models by 2025, which he expects will account for a third of annual sales. The company also plans to introduce fully autonomous vehicles developed in-house by "the beginning of the next decade."

In other news, the company gained approval from the Federal Transport Authority, a German regulator, to recall an additional 1 million diesel vehicles to fix the emissions systems. It brings the number of recalled vehicles in Germany to 3.7 million.

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