VW to scale down production of evs

[Super Sonic]

Volkswagen is reducing it's ev production due to their lack of popularity. Sales are 30% down on forecasts.

[lizardbrain]

My personal experience of running a (micro) cash cow with a wide turning circle; is worth basically nothing here, but FWIw it suggests to me VW are doomed to milk ice for a decade and then fold

[TheRainMaker]

Or the market is just not there yet and they are making more money with hybrids and ice.

[Nomme de Plum]

I see in our area the numbers of Tesla's increasing, particularly the 3 and Y along with Hyundai and Kia and some MGs.

Maybe VW offering is simply not good enough,

I note the article states its a temporary cessation at one plant and the much revised ID3 is still due for release later this year.

The article also mentions a push to get VAT reduced and grants reinstated. If this does happen It's a shame that it will not come to the UK

[ruggedscotty]

if public has choice, ev or ice they are picking ice as i is cheaper to purchase/......


if parity was made then you would be selling EV's imagine -

45%\ tax on an ICE. and punitive annual charge.... soon have folks getting EVs....

at present VW know profit is in ice. not EV. whole automotive trade is struggling.

Stop the ICE sales. and you ill get folks buying evs.....

[TheRainMaker]

Nomme de Plum said:

I see in our area the numbers of Tesla's increasing, particularly the 3 and Y

It might feel like that, but Tesla has only increased its market share in the UK by 0.04% over the last year to date, not a massive figure.

[Pica-Pica]

ruggedscotty said:

Stop the ICE sales. and you ill get folks buying evs.....

I think people will probably hold on to their ICEs for longer, it won’t immediately increase EV sales.

[Ardennes92]

Pica-Pica said:

ruggedscotty said:

Stop the ICE sales. and you ill get folks buying evs.....

I think people will probably hold on to their ICEs for longer, it won’t immediately increase EV sales.

Might help the balance of payments though🤔

[page3]

I think it shows it is no longer acceptable to simply make an EV, it needs to be a good car too.

[autumnsum]

Their EVs are awful compared to Tesla (tech) or even MG (price) why would anyone buy a VW.

Isn't the model Y the best selling car in Europe right now (it's high in the UK charts too).

[tr7v8]

autumnsum said:

Their EVs are awful compared to Tesla (tech) or even MG (price) why would anyone buy a VW.

Isn't the model Y the best selling car in Europe right now (it's high in the UK charts too).

Finally someone has seen VAG for the turds they are. My boss & a colleague in Ireland both serial VAG owners, Audi etc. rejected their electrics as crap & have bought Teslas. There are loads around in NW Kent as their HQ is in Dartford at the bottom of the Dartford bridge.

[Super Sonic]

tr7v8 said:

Finally someone has seen VAG for the turds they are. My boss & a colleague in Ireland both serial VAG owners, Audi etc. rejected their electrics as crap & have bought Teslas. There are loads around in NW Kent as their HQ is in Dartford at the bottom of the Dartford bridge.

The diesel gate thing didn't help. Nobody likes being lied to.

[TheDeuce]

page3 said:

I think it shows it is no longer acceptable to simply make an EV, it needs to be a good car too.

This is what it boils down too. I've driven the cars, looked at old and updated interiors in detail, compared them to what else is available, they just don't stack up.

For the same or less money the Chinese are now pushing objectively better EV's. And if a person is hell bent on buying European of specifically German cars only, there are better offerings elsewhere for the money in that market too.

I've been saying it for years now, the ID range is simply not good enough, VW fluffed it. They need to get a new platform and subsequent range of EV's ready in the next couple of years so they're better aligned when the ban is really looming and (although nobody really needs too...) People inevitably read the headlines and conclude their next car really does need to be an EV - even though it actually doesn't.

Tbh I think the growing number of very decent, extremely cheap EV's coming from the east is going to put a lot of legacy manufacturers in Europe in a very awkward position.

Edited by TheDeuce on Saturday 1st July 19:00

Edited by TheDeuce on Saturday 1st July 19:00

[thebraketester]

autumnsum said:

Their EVs are awful compared to Tesla (tech) or even MG (price) why would anyone buy a VW.

Isn't the model Y the best selling car in Europe right now (it's high in the UK charts too).

Well yes I would buy one, but sadly they stopped making the e-Up. My friend has one and it's brilliant for what it is

[paradigital]

tr7v8 said:

Finally someone has seen VAG for the turds they are. My boss & a colleague in Ireland both serial VAG owners, Audi etc. rejected their electrics as crap & have bought Teslas. There are loads around in NW Kent as their HQ is in Dartford at the bottom of the Dartford bridge.

We were a serial VAG household since 2010, with a 2008 A6, two A4s (2012 and 2013), an S3 (2016), a Lupo (2002), a Polo (2010), a Yeti (2015), and a Passat GTE (2018).

I couldn’t bring myself to buy a VAG EV (at the time, I could be swayed by a Taycan/eTron GT) as they were awful, so bought the Model 3. The biggest issue of the VAG EV offerings isn’t the vehicle build quality, price, or anything like that, it’s the software. Both in-car and the mobile apps, they just suck.

Controlling our Passat GTE vs the Tesla is like comparing dial-up internet to WiFi based FTTP, it’s night and day.

[thecremeegg]

I didn't even consider a VW when I was looking at my company car earlier this year, mainly based on the god awful interiors. I went with an i4 instead which is a fantastic car.

[Hub]

As others have said, I'm not too surprised. The ID Buzz is the only desirable EV they have, the others look ugly, don't excel in any area and are criticised for terrible interiors and touchscreen systems/controls.

EVs are a more homogeneous product so there could be a real market share shake up in the future. Anyone mid market could really suffer with cheap Chinese makes making huge advances, wiping out established names and leaving a few desirable premium brands at the top.

[tr7v8]

To add to the above apparently the delivery dates on all the mainstream european EVs was horrendous. People quoting 10 months plus. Apparently very bad in Ireland as its a very small market. Tesla was weeks, although my boss wanted a towbar which was ££££'s to mount a bike carrier so lengthened his delivery to several months.

[TheDeuce]

Hub said:

As others have said, I'm not too surprised. The ID Buzz is the only desirable EV they have, the others look ugly, don't excel in any area and are criticised for terrible interiors and touchscreen systems/controls.

EVs are a more homogeneous product so there could be a real market share shake up in the future. Anyone mid market could really suffer with cheap Chinese makes making huge advances, wiping out established names and leaving a few desirable premium brands at the top.

I think VW will suffer more than the other brands, because of their core brand - they make 'cars for the people', not fancy cars, not cars most people would yearn to have one day.. just a solid, well built, sensible car.

The problem is, that's the exact same methodology that all the giant new Chinese car makers have taken - they're making cars for the people too! And at approx 2/3 the price...

[Whataguy]

The id2 is still a few years away, if they can get that out for the prices they are quoting they could have a massive hit.

Unfortunately at the moment, although I love VW, the mg4 new is maybe £10k cheaper than a similar id3. Secondhand the e-Niro is a few thousand cheaper than a id3 and better.

VW finally admit they have dropped the ball with software and touch pads instead of physical controls.

Frustratingly they say it will take a few years to fix! Why can't they just put new steering wheels on the production line and offer an upgrade for existing owners?

VW used to have the best selling cars in Europe, but it will take a few years to get back after the id2 launches and if it meets the standards.