FRANKFURT—Volkswagen on Thursday said it would ramp up spending for battery-powered electric vehicles by around 50 percent to 52 billion euros ($59 billion) by 2026 as part of the group’s far-reaching transformation. The investment is part of Volkswagen’s new revolving 5-year spending plan, which foresees total investments of 159 billion euros in the 2022–2026 period, compared with 150 billion for the 2021–2025 period. ($1 = 0.8839 euros)