Volkswagen was supposed to sell the electric Passat, ID.7, in the US, but backed out earlier this month. In China, sales have been a disaster with just 9 sales.
The Volkswagen ID.7, the new electric Passat, has had a difficult start to life in the world's most important car market – China.
This is reported by CarNewsChina .
The sales figures for January painted a picture of a complete flop. In fact, only nine ID.7s were sold to the Chinese in the entire month of January.
This is in stark contrast to the success in the domestic market in Germany, where the car was the best-selling electric car during the same period.
Volkswagen has never sold so few copies of a model to the otherwise eager Chinese. China was the last market for which Volkswagen built a very special engine.
An engine that is now a thing of the past. Read more about it here .
The ID.7 Vizzion has failed to attract a sufficient number of customers, despite a significant price reduction.
At launch, the rear-wheel drive model cost approximately 221,000 Danish kroner. But the price has now been reduced to around 189,000 kroner. This means that the four-wheel drive version costs around 221,000 kroner.
It's not just the ID.7 that has had trouble attracting Chinese car buyers. Volkswagen sold a total of 4,552 electric cars in China in January, a drop of 71 percent compared to the same period last year.
However, the Chinese New Year may have had a negative impact on sales figures.
Volkswagen's most popular model, the ID.3, sold 2,623 units in January, which is also a decrease of 65.5 percent.
The ID.4 X and ID.4 Crozz, two similar models produced in collaboration with various Chinese partners, amounted to 1,020 and 889 respectively.
Volkswagen has built its electric cars in China through three different partnerships with SAIC, FAW and JAC.
The ID.7 Vizzion was developed in collaboration with FAW and has been on the market for two months. But sales have been minimal. A similar model, the ID.7 S, developed with SAIC, has also not been a success.
Despite the challenges in China, Volkswagen has had more success with the ID.7 in other markets. In Germany, the ID.7 was the best-selling electric car in January.
Several factors may have contributed to the low sales of the ID.7 in China. Younger Chinese customers have different preferences than older ones.
Younger drivers in particular value features such as seamless in-car internet connectivity, wireless updates, entertainment and a good user experience, areas where Volkswagen may have failed to meet expectations.
In any case, the Germans are so obsessed with software that they have thrown out their entire in-house developed venture called Cariad. An investment worth at least 45 billion Danish kroner.
Now the Germans have pumped a similar amount into the car brand Rivian. All in the hope that the Americans are better at software.
Furthermore, the Chinese market for electric cars is saturated, and Chinese customers generally prefer SUVs to sedans. The ID.7's sedan design may therefore have been a disadvantage in the Chinese market.
| Model | Sales | Producer | MoM | Year-on-year | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen ID.3 | 2,623 | SAIC-VW | -69.0% ↓ | -65.5% ↓ | 0.15% |
| Volkswagen ID.4 X | 1,020 | SAIC-VW | -70.0% ↓ | -37.2% ↓ | 0.06% |
| Volkswagen ID.4 Crozz | 889 | FAW-Volkswagen | -59.3% ↓ | -75.5% ↓ | 0.05% |
| Volkswagen ID.7 VIZZION | 9 | FAW-Volkswagen | -97.7% ↓ | -99.6% ↓ | 0.0% |
| Volkswagen ID.6 Crozz | 9 | FAW-Volkswagen | -93.9% ↓ | -97.9% ↓ | 0.0% |
| Volkswagen ID.6 X | 2 | SAIC-VW | 0.0% ↑ | -99.3% ↓ | 0.0% |
Explanation:
- Model: The specific Volkswagen electric car model.
- Sales: Number of units sold in the period in question (likely January 2024, based on the context).
- Manufacturer: The joint venture or partnership that produces the car in China.
- MoM (Month-over-Month): Change in sales compared to the previous month (in percentage).
- YoY (Year-over-Year): Change in sales compared to the same month the previous year (in percentage).
- Market Share: Share of the total market for electric cars that the model has (in percent).
Symbols:
- ↓: Indicates a decrease in sales.
- ↑: Indicates an increase in sales.
Additional notes:
- The data shows a general decline in sales of Volkswagen electric cars in China, especially for the ID.7 Vizzon.
- This can be due to various factors such as market conditions, competition and changes in consumer preferences.
