Across all drive systems, the carmaker delivered 4.87 million VW vehicles in 2023, which represents an increase of 6.7 per cent. Thus, battery-electric vehicle growth is more dynamic with the aforementioned 21.1 per cent increase. But with 394,000 fully electric vehicles – i.e. a share of around eight per cent of sales – it remains a secondary business for VW. In 2022, the Wolfsburg-based company delivered approximately 330,000 electric cars.
Other recent statistics also put the VW figures into perspective: The BMW Group, for example, sold almost a similar number of BEVs in 2023, namely a total of 376,183, an increase of 74.4 per cent compared to 2022. Tesla and BYD achieved sales figures in entirely different dimensions: Tesla came in at 1.81 million and BYD at 1.57 million BEVs sold.
In its annual report, Volkswagen hardly makes any further specifications for the e-mobility sector. For example, the company does not report plug-in hybrids separately in its statement. VW names China, Germany, the US, the UK, Sweden, France, Norway, and Belgium as the largest BEV markets for its core brand. The ranking is based on absolute figures not listed in detail.
In the model ranking, VW only gives examples that do not allow conclusions about global sales figures to be drawn. According to the manufacturer, it delivered “about 30,000 ID.4 models” in Germany (+ 62.9 per cent) and sold “about 38,000 examples of the ID.4” in the USA (+ 84.2 per cent). The ID.3 was particularly popular in China: “More than 75,000 were delivered in 2023 there – a over 200 per cent increase compared to the previous year.”
It should be noted that the figures mentioned at the beginning only relate to EV deliveries of the Volkswagen brand and not yet to those of the Group, which would include BEV sales of Skoda, Seat/Cupra, Audi, Porsche and the commercial vehicle brands. These will follow in the coming days.
Meanwhile, VW is confident that it will be able to increase BEV sales in 2024. Because “the ID.4 and ID.5 also recently received a major update with a completely new operating concept and new drive system. The new ID.7 Tourer, the estate version of the all-electric top model ID.7, will also launch this year.” To meet the high demand for SUVs, Volkswagen plans to produce a fully electric SUV in the high-volume A-segment starting in 2026.
According to Imelda Labbé, Volkswagen Board Member for Sales, Marketing and After Sales, “the delivery figures show that we are on the right track as a brand and that our cars are well received by our customers. We expect the market environment to remain challenging in 2024. But with our revised and attractive product portfolio, we are in the right position.”
