Olkswagen leans on EVs, nostalgia to grow in U.S.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Proba- bly only Americans of a certain age remember when the Volkswagen Beetle was the bestselling imported car in the United States and the hippest ride to a Grateful Dead concert was a Volk- swagen Microbus.
Volkswagen is trying to tap some of that nostalgia in its latest push to regain the sta- tus and sales it enjoyed in the United States during the Beetle’s and Microbus’ hey- days in the 1960s. But this time it hopes its top models will be electric.
The German carmaker is second only to Toyota glob- ally but is a niche player in the U.S. Part of its plan to revive its fortunes here is to lean on a new electric model that resembles the Microbus, the ID.Buzz, and to revive the Scout brand with a line of electric pickups and sport utility vehicles.
Last month, as giant earth movers kicked up clouds of dust, Volkswagen executives and local officials gathered near Columbia, South Caro- lina, to inaugurate the site of a factory that will build vehi- cles bearing the Scout badge r the first time since 1980. Volkswagen is one of sev- eral foreign automakers that see electric cars and the upheaval they are causing as a way to challenge the dominant players in the U.S. Volkswagen, which also owns Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini, is aiming to at least double its market share in the U.S. by the end of the decade from a mea- ger 4% now.
“This market is turning electric, and everybody’s starting from scratch,” Arno Antlitz, chief financial officer of Volkswagen, said in an interview. “This is our unique opportunity to grow.
Electric vehicles have already shaken the industry rankings, emboldening Volkswagen and other foreign automakers. Battery-powered SUVs and sedans helped Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister brand Kia overtake Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and Ram, as the fourth-largest carmaker by sales in the U.S. last year.
“Electric vehicles are helping our brand to be seen as a technology leader,” said José Muñoz, chief operating officer of Hyundai. They also attract a better-educated, more affluent customer than has been the case for the South Korean company’s gasoline vehicles, he said in an interview.
The list of companies that dominate electric car sales looks a lot different from the top rankings for overall U.S. sales, hinting at a future when a different group of companies rule.
The top five companies in the U.S. for all engine types are General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motor Co., Hyundai and Stellantis. In electric cars, Tesla is No. 1 by a wide margin, followed by Hyundai, GM, Ford and Volkswagen. Toyota is a minor player in electric cars.
Volkswagen has tried and failed since the 1970s to become a bigger presence in the U.S., and analysts are skeptical that this time wi l be different. “I’ve seen Volkswa
n set these goals before,” said Michelle Krebs, execut ve analyst at Cox Automotive.
The established carmakers will not be pushovers. GM and Ford are also investing heavily in electric vehicles, while Toyota has said it will start producing a large electric SUV in Kentucky next year.