Volkswagen Australia plans for electric vehicles (EVs) to account for more sales than its internal combustion (ICE) range as soon as 2028, according to a recent post on VW Group’s LinkedIn.
The German carmaker currently has no EVs in its range, but from the end of 2023 will commence its rollout starting with the ID.4/5 medium SUVs priced from about $60,000.
From 2024 the company intends to add the ID.3 hatch in mid-life updated form, plus the much in-demand, retro-inspired ID.Buzz people-mover and ID.Cargo work van.
This quartet will form a crucial part of VW’s plan to dramatically scale up its EV sales, projecting 6500 sales of zero-tailpipe emissions cars in 2024, and a cumulative 150,000 by 2030.
“Our ambitions are very clear, we’re not here to dip our toe in the water,” said Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles general manager of marketing and product Ralph Beckmann.
As reported last month, Volkswagen globally will introduce 10 new electric vehicles by 2026 and will cease European production of combustion-powered vehicles by 2033.
Volkswagen Australia has previously told us that it understands headquarters is working on electric versions of the Amarok and Crafter, and it wants to bring them here too.
The key issue here will no doubt be supply.
The company has long been outspoken about the need for the federal government to legislate fuel efficiency standards – expected to form the key plank in its national EV plan – to incentivise its German parent company to send plenty of EVs our way.
“Our company was to first to warn that this country would become a ‘third world dumping ground’ for obsolete auto technology. This has become a rallying cry,” said then VW Group Australia chief Paul Sansom in August.
“A federally mandated emissions target for our industry is non-negotiable if Australia’s supply of electric vehicles is to grow from a trickle to a flow and thereby start to meet ever growing demand,” he added.
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