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Volkswagen Group gets a lot of stick for not doing a better job of electrifying and leading the EV revolution. However, it’s doing better than most (or all?) other legacy automakers, especially in its home market of Europe.
Of course, Volkswagen has been losing sales in China rapidly. Even auto brands doing well in China (Chinese EV producers) have been having a tough year. Volkswagen is basically being quickly walked to the door and about to get the boot. Maybe. There is a glimmer of hope for the company in China. At home in Europe, on the other hand, things are going very well, and the success is being led by electric vehicles.
“In a persistently challenging market environment, the Volkswagen Group kept its deliveries outside of China stable overall in the first nine months. We recorded growth in South America and Europe. In our home market, we are seeing a significantly accelerated trend towards all-electric vehicles. The main reasons for this are the currently high fuel prices and the wider range of entry-level models,” Martin Sander, Member of the Group’s Extended Executive Committee for Sales, said. “This includes our Electric Urban Car Family, for which we received nearly 150,000 orders shortly after its launch. This is a tremendous success that underscores how these four vehicles have perfectly captured the spirit of the times. Overall, one in five of the models we’ve delivered in Europe is all-electric, and in our order book, that share is as high as around 40 percent. The sharp decline in the overall market in China remains an industry-wide challenge. At the same time, our new, locally developed electric models are beginning to make an impact. Compared to the same quarter last year, we delivered approximately 30 percent more electrified vehicles to our customers in China in Q3. Globally, our deliveries after three quarters are approximately nine percent below the same period last year.”
The Volkswagen brand is the #1 EV brand in Europe (with BYD actually not far behind), but looking at Volkswagen Group, the company is absolutely dominating the market. Volkswagen Group accounts for 23.9% of plugin vehicle sales in Europe now, with BMW Group far behind in second with 8.7%. (Thanks for the thorough reports, José.)
“The Volkswagen Group remains the clear BEV market leader in Europe and significantly accelerated its growth trajectory in Q3 with an increase of 20 percent; the BEV share in Europe rose from 18 to 20 percent after nine months; in China, the new, locally developed electric models are generating positive momentum in a significantly declining market; the overall BEV market in the U.S. declined significantly following the expiration of government subsidy programs; amid continued high pressure from import tariffs, BEV deliveries there fell by 78 percent.”
The company’s BEV sales in Europe have been going up significantly. This is being driven especially by new lower-cost electric vehicle models. “BEV order intake in Europe rises by more than 60 percent in Q3 compared with the prior-year period; in particular, the recently launched Electric Urban Car Family comprising the VW ID. Polo and ID. Cross02, Škoda Epiq, and CUPRA Raval is proving highly popular with customers, with nearly 150,000 orders to date. Order intake across all powertrains in Europe increases by 4 percent in the first three quarters; order book grows by around 11 percent compared with year-end 2025, BEV share of the order book rises to around 40 percent.” Notice the difference there between overall growth and BEV growth. BEVs are clearly carrying the company at the moment in Europe, and thus more broadly. Here’s a look at Volkswagen Group’s BEV best sellers:
Solid work by Volkswagen Group is clearly paying off in the electric vehicle sector.
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