Electric vehicle rollout aspirations detailed
VOLKSWAGEN has outlined plans for its electric vehicle roll-out in Australia, with the German importer forecasting a range of sports, passenger, SUV and light commercial models for Australian showrooms from as early as 2024.
Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles general manager of marketing and product, Ralph Beckmann, said electric vehicle sales were expected to overtake petrol-powered models, also known as Ice-powered vehicles, by 2028.
His comments came as media gathered to view the brand’s Id.buzz and Id.buzz Cargo electric vans in Sydney last month.
“From a global perspective, we will launch 10 new EV models by 2026,” Mr Beckmann said.
“Our ID journey will begin in 2023 and, at the same time, both ID.4 and ID.5 will be launched offering two very compelling propositions in the SUV segment, and in the Australian market, we are making sure these are front and centre within our electric range of products.
“We will also be unveiling the ID.3 to the public in quarter one, and this model represents a significant product upgrade — a lot of it driven by customer feedback from the initial model.”
The ID range will form the core of Volkswagen’s mainstream push into electrification.
“Looking forward a little further into the second half of the 2020s, we’ll be going into the future from a sedan development perspective as well and looking at the Project Trinity, which will be a very significant step up in tech,” Mr Beckmann said.
“Trinity will represent the crown jewel of VW’S technology offering as the first model with level-four autonomous driving capabilities.
“At the same time, we are aware that not every Australian is ready to make the jump to battery-electric vehicles,
BEV, straightaway, so our plan of attack in the electrification space is most definitely two-pronged through not only the BEV models mentioned, but a comprehensive offering of plug-in hybrid, PHEV, products.”
Mr Beckmann said the majority of PHEV models would take familiar forms and include the Tiguan, Golf and Touareg.
He said Volkswagen’s electrification ambitions for Australia were clear.
“We’re not here to dip our toe in the water. We have some very clear sales ambitions … the volume aspiration for just 2024 is 6500 EVS as part of the sales mix, and by the time we roll into the 2025 to 2030 timeframe we will be selling 150,000 EVS throughout this period,” he said.
Volkswagen Group Australia will launch seven new vehicles within the next 18 months including two BEVS and one PHEV, and beyond that, the first ID SUV and van models, including the Id.buzz and Id.buzz Cargo.
The future of light commercial vehicles is also set to include an electrified version of the Amarok, called eamarok, and Crafter, called ecrafter, closer to the end of the decade.