Volkswagen delivers half a million ID electric vehicles

Volkswagen is also working hard to deliver outstanding orders for around 135,000 IDs that were delayed by the ongoing shortage of parts, including microchips. VW’s order bank is 65% higher than it was in 2021. The backlog for the VW brand in Europe across all drive types remains high at 700,000 vehicles. 

“We are doing our utmost to deliver the roughly 135,000 IDs on order to our customers as quickly as possible,” said Imelda Labbé, head of sales, marketing and after sales at Volkswagen. “However, due to the persistently strained situation as regards the supply of parts we are repeatedly having to adjust production.”

The company currently makes the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 for global distribution. The ID.6, which is made at the joint venture plant VW has with FAW in Foshan, China, is only sold in China. The FAW-VW plant also makes the ID.4 Crozz for the Chinese market, while the ID.4 X is made in Anting by SAIC-VW. By 2030 VW wants battery EVs to account for 70% of overall sales in Europe, and for 50% in the US and China. By 2033 the carmaker said it would only sell EVs in Europe.

“Norway is the forerunner in electric mobility,” said Labbé. “The ID.4 topped the registration statistics there in October. This example shows that the ID. family product portfolio matches the needs of our customers,” Labbé stated. VW sold 1,014 ID.4s there in October.

More than 9,700 EVs were sold in Norway in October, equal to 77.5% of overall registrations in the country.

Volkswagen is to launch ten new EVs by 2026 as part of its Accelerate strategy, aimed at making the carmaker an emission-free, software-driven mobility provider.

Overall, in the first nine months of 2022 VW Passenger Cars increased sales revenue by €3 billion ($3.07 billion) to €52 billion. The Volkswagen brand delivered 3.3m vehicles worldwide, of which 207,200 were all-electric ID models (+23.5%). 

The carmaker has launched online sales of the ID series this year and an increasing amount of customers are opting to lease the vehicle, with the first vehicles processed completely online now delivered. A spokesperson for VW said that introducing online sales alongside physical dealerships was strengthening competitiveness in the long term.

“Dealers continue to be closely integrated into the online business model, both organisationally and financially, and also remain important points of contact for customers, from advice and test drives to delivery and service,” said the spokesperson.

The agency model, by which the OEM sells directly to the customer online for a fixed fee, is growing in popularity as an option, something that was accelerated by the pandemic. VW is using it for sales of EVs.