Volkswagen announced today that it has officially sold 500,000 ID. series of electric vehicles worldwide since the first ID.3 models were delivered to customers in October 2020, and the company plans to accelerate its electrification program.
With the departure of its former CEO Herbert Diess, many are pessimistic about Volkswagen’s electrified future. However, Volkswagen continues to press ahead with its electrification plans, and now that the company has officially sold 500,000 ID. series electric vehicles worldwide, the company plans to accelerate its electrification plan.
Volkswagen’s electric car orders remain high at 135,000, up 65% from 2021, and the company is optimistic it will be able to deliver the vehicles quickly despite tight supplies. In addition, Volkswagen’s electric vehicle lineup now covers three different models: the Volkswagen ID.3 compact car, the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 mid-size SUVs, and the Volkswagen ID.6 full-size SUV.
Volkswagen now plans to end production of combustion-engined cars in Europe by 2033 and plans to introduce ten new electric models globally by 2026, including facelifts for existing models.
Regarding plans for specific markets, Volkswagen said it aims to have 70 percent of vehicles sold in Europe be fully electric by 2030, and 50 percent in the U.S. and China.
However, it wasn’t all good news for the German auto giant. Tight supply remains an ongoing problem, so much so that sales board member Imelda Labbé said the situation could affect production timetables, “We are doing our best to deliver orders for approximately 135,000 ID. to customers as quickly as possible. However, We had to repeatedly adjust production due to continued tightness in parts supply.”
Another major challenge for Volkswagen is the electric vehicle market in North America. Although Volkswagen obviously cannot compete with companies such as Tesla for control of the electric vehicle market, they are also lagging behind in terms of electric vehicle market share. than other traditional brands such as Ford and Hyundai/Kia.
