Volkswagen’s Total Auto Sales for 2020 Declines by 15%, Save for Its Tripling EV Sales

Volkswagen on January 14^th announced its global sales figures for 2020, which suffered a substantial 15% YoY decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although VW BEV and PHEV sales each increased by 300% and 270% YoY during the period against market headwinds. The company previously known for its “das auto” slogan sold a total of 9.305 million cars last year.

However, VW was more than happy with regards to its EV portfolio. Its yearly sales of 231,000 BEVs were more than triple the number sold in 2019, while its PHEV sales registered a 270% YoY growth with 190,000 units.

EV sales in Europe accounted for 10.5% of VW’s total new vehicle sales, whereas this number was a mere 1.9% in 2019. Incidentally, the European market had been making the hardest push out of all global markets for EV adoption.

The following models were VW’s best-selling EVs:

1. Volkswagen ID.3: 56,500 units
2. Audi e-tron: 47,300 units
3. Volkswagen e-Golf: 41,300 units
4. Volkswagen e-up!: 22,200 units
5. Porsche Taycan: 20,000 units

The list is led by the ID.3, sales of which officially began last September. Though the model is limited to the European market only, it has seen soaring sales since release, dethroning even Tesla’s Model 3 in the process. The ID.3 is largely responsible for remarkable European performances within VW’s global sales in 4Q20 and in particular December 2020.

Worth mentioning is the fact that Porsche sold a total of 270,000 cars in 2020, with 20,000 of this figure by way of Taycan, its BEV sports car. Cayenne, Porsche’s PHEV SUV, also sold 21,000 units. Compared to VW’s 5.32 million EV sales and Audi’s 1.69 million, the proportion of EVs in Porsche’s new car sales is higher than expected.

The VW group is now prepared to invest about €35 billion in the electrification R&D project it announced earlier. VW will dedicate this fund to chassis, software, and self-driving research, in addition to ensuring it fields a lineup of sufficiently diverse models. The group is slated to release up to 70 BEV models by 2030 in anticipation of an era in which internal combustion engines are banned.

VW’S EV fleet will bring several things to watch for in 2021, including the release of the Volkswagen ID.4, the impending sales of VW BEVs in China, and Porsche’s BEV SUV Macan EV. The sales of all these vehicles are noteworthy.

 (Image: Volkswagen)