Despite the complicated situation experienced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Volkswagen has seen its sales of electric cars increase to 134,000 units worldwide, tripling the figures achieved in 2019. This should be added to the 78,000 units of plug-in hybrids, giving us a combined 212,000 plug-in vehicles delivered, a year-on-year increase of 158%.
Today, 2.5% of Volkswagen sales correspond to electric models. Adding the plug-in hybrids, a total share of 4% is reached, reflecting that this type of car increasingly has a greater weight in the German manufacturer. This figure will only increase in the short term thanks to the mass arrival of new electric models that the company will offer.
Suppose we consider all the electrified models of the company (hybrids, plug-in hybrids, pure electric), the participation quota increases to 12.4% of the total volume. The most important model for Volkswagen during this period has been the new ID.3, of which 56,500 units were delivered between September and December (14,400 in Germany), reaching 68,800 orders.
The ID.3 became the best-selling electric car in Finland, Slovenia, and Norway in December and the best-selling vehicle in Sweden in absolute terms. Nor can we lose sight of the excellent performance of the e-Golf, which has been fired with a total of 41,300 units sold in all of 2020. The third position has been occupied by the Passat GTE (plug-in hybrid), which has been around 24,000 units sold.
Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of Volkswagen, welcomes the results: ‘2020 was a turning point for Volkswagen and marked a breakthrough in electric mobility. We are well on our way to achieving our goal of becoming the market leader in electric vehicles. More than any other company, we advocate for attractive and affordable electric mobility.’
Klaus Zellmer, member of the board responsible for sales, added an upbeat assessment of the new ID.3. “We really hit the mark with the ID.3. Although it was only introduced in the second half of the year, it was at the top of the sales charts in many countries almost immediately.”