From the article: “HEFEI, China/BERLIN Nov 24 (Reuters) - Volkswagen said on Friday it will develop a new platform for entry-level electric vehicles in China and use more local components to lower costs, as the German company seeks to regain lost ground in the world’s biggest auto market. The new architecture, known as the A Main Platform, will be made specifically to Chinese consumer tastes with regards to the battery, electric drive and electric motor, China chief Ralf Brandstaetter told reporters during a visit to its new EV development and procurement centre in the central city of Hefei.”
“Volkswagen is pushing to expand its product range in China to attract customers in the entry- and mid-level segment of EVs in particular, with its current offering priced above that of many Chinese electric-only rivals. It plans to develop four models priced between 140,000 yuan ($19,400) and 170,000 yuan on the new platform to compete with rivals in a segment dominated by gasoline cars currently, Brandstaetter said. The cars would be produced by Volkswagen’s joint ventures with SAIC and FAW, he added.”
Note: this was originally posted to /r/EuroEV
i mean the way VW worded this press release, they seem to imply their EVs for sale in China are not price competitive cause they use too many non chinese parts, but in China right now VW EVs are like 33kusd for the ID.7 and the ID.4/5 and 3 are way cheaper than those, so affordable VW EVs already exist just not for europeans
The problem is that at those prices, Volkswagen isn’t making enough money in China.
They’re willing to take short-to-medium losses as it’s about survival. 38% of VW sales were in China last year, and they just can’t afford to give up market share for good. They have, and have to burn the cash.
The Japanese though seem to have largely given up. While VW was busying upping its game in China, all Toyota did was assigning the bz4X a Chinese name…
Short-to-medium term losses are inherently the problem.
Yes, like I said in another thread. Even at such low asking prices, they’re not competitive enough in China for what they’re offering. The ID.3, 4 and 6 have to be heavily discounted further in order to sell. The ID.7 is running straight into half a dozen of 800v-capable, LiDAR equipped Chinese sedans and is considered by the Chinese media to be obsolete even before release. Believe it or not, it will not fare well for $33k, as we shall see soon.
The point is they’re updating the models and upping the competition in China at unmatched pace. Chinese makers today typically build a new EV, from scratch to serial production, within 24-36 months. Seems like VW has realized that they really have to put R&D there and navigate the extensive local supply chain to just keep up with that and stay in the game.
I’m feeling just a touch of alarmism here — consider the BYD Han competes in this same segment with similar specs, and sells quite well. Yeah, the ID7 is a bit boring, but a lot of people out there want boring — Volkswagen already sells over 2M units a year in China, they shouldn’t have too much of a problem finding buyers.