FRANKFURT, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) on Thursday said it would ramp up spending for battery-powered electric vehicles by around 50% 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.