The VW Group’s recent sales leap is proof that the electric revolution is here
More than half a decade ago, the Volkswagen Group found itself in the hottest place in the automotive world – the Dieselgate emissions scandal. It was so hot that VW saw its sales burn away and plummet as some customers lost confidence in the automaker.
At the same time, electric vehicles tried to imagine, led by models from Tesla. The automobile manufacturers developed electrical concepts, many of which have already gone into series production or will be. In order to remove the stigma of the Dieselgate scandal, the VW group saw a way out – electrification. Since then, the VW Group has been working tirelessly on the development of new electric vehicles. Now that these electric cars are out, VW is reaping real money.
As early as 2018, the VW Group was the first automobile manufacturer to commit to the Paris Agreement, with the aim of being climate-neutral by 2050. In November of that year, its board of directors announced a $ 44 billion investment over the next five years in a massive electric offensive with the intention of participating in a global electric revolution.
In fact, a revolution like this is already here latest EV sales leap at the VW group.
The path of the VW group from the diesel gate to electrification
The so-called Dieselgate scandal is the result of the VW Group’s efforts to tell the world that its diesel vehicles are less harmful to the environment. But some people within the company went overboard and Dieselgate broke out. After paying billions of dollars in fines and fines, the VW corporation literally changed its strategy to something electrifying.
The modular electric drive kit (MEB), a vehicle architecture that is designed for long ranges, spacious interiors and dynamic performance, serves as the technical and economic backbone of the Group’s electric offensive. The first electric car from MEB was the compact VW ID.3, the series version of which was presented at the IAA 2019 in Frankfurt.
Around 56,500 units of the VW ID.3 were sold in 2020, but that was just the beginning. In the first half of 2021, VW sold 31,177 units of the ID.3, and it’s still halfway through the year.
Huge increase in electric car sales in the first half of 2021
The VW Group’s electric offensive in the first half of 2021 got off to a hot start. During the period, the company launched several electric vehicles across all brands: Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron, Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, as well as Volkswagen ID.4, Volkswagen ID.6, Skoda Enyaq iV. 4 plays an important role among these models, as VW has an offer in the world’s largest growth segment, the compact SUV class.
As expected, the ID.4 did not fail at the VW Group, as it was the front runner among the Group EVs in the first half of 2021 with total sales of 37,292 units. Closely followed by the ID.3 and the Audi e-tron (including Sportback) with 25,794 vehicles sold. The Group’s top 5 electric vehicles in terms of sales are rounded off by the Porsche Taycan (including Cross Turismo) 19,822 vehicles and the VW e-up! 17,890 vehicles
Overall that is The VW Group delivered 170,939 electric vehicles worldwide in the first half of 2021which corresponds to an increase of 165.2% compared to the previous year in the same period in 2020. Of these, 59,948 electric vehicles were delivered in the first quarter (78.4% more than in the previous year) and 110,991 units (259.7% more than in the previous year)) in the second quarter. In addition to battery EVs, the VW Group also sells plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs). In the first half of 2021, PHEV sales at group level rose by 204.2% to a total of 171,300 PHEVs.
Electric revolution at the world’s largest automobile manufacturer
By the end of June 2021, total deliveries (all vehicle types) by the VW Group increased significantly by 27.9% to around 5 million vehicles compared to the previous year. Thanks to massive numbers in the first six months of 2021, EV accounted for a larger portion of sales than in the same period in 2020. With the overwhelming increase in EVs in the first half of 2021 for the world’s largest automaker (as of 2020), it is undeniable that the electric revolution is here.
How many electric cars the VW Group has sold by region, the home market of Europe remains its sales bastion. In the first half of the year, 128,078 electric vehicles were delivered in Europe, which corresponds to an increase in sales of 154 percent. Interestingly, the VW Group is also the leading supplier of electric vehicles in Europe with a market share of 26%. Europe accounted for 74.9% of the Group’s global electric vehicle sales in the first few months of 2021.
The other largest markets of the VW Group include the USA with 18,514 electric vehicles (10.8% of worldwide deliveries) with a market share of around 9 percent. Sales in China amounted to 18,285 electric vehicles (10.7%).
VW brand as global market leader in electric vehicles by 2025
With these strong EV results and robust sales of conventional vehicles, the CEO of the VW Group, Herbert Diess, is optimistic about the future of the company. At the virtual general meeting of the Volkswagen Group, Diess announced that it would continue to expand its share of the electric mobility market with the aim of becoming the global market leader for electric vehicles.
As part of the electrification and digitization of its vehicle portfolio, the lead brand Volkswagen is aiming to become the world market leader in electric vehicles by 2025. It’s still 2021 and the VW Group is still in the process of building the most comprehensive electric vehicle portfolio in the automotive industry.
Source: Volkswagen Group
Continue reading
About the author
