VW struggling to define its future

[BlueR32]

Volkswagen Sales Bloodbath Threatens To Shrink Model Lineup By 50%

Confronted by a collapsing market share in China, regulatory tariff walls, and high domestic manufacturing costs, Volkswagen executives tried to push through a brutal restructuring plan.For decades, China was Volkswagen’s primary profit engine.Volkswagen's sales in China plunged by 36.6 percent...

www.thetruthaboutcars.com

 

[Crasher]

In VW’s head they must be thinking “ve had fooked up by going electric, but WTF, let’s just double down on EV’s until ve are dead”

 

[Uwe]

“ve had fooked up by going electric,

What choice did they have when the Eurocrats decided to ban combustion-powered cars by 2035?

Even the EU's newer, more flexible rules, which are no longer an outright ban, require a 90% CO₂ reduction compared to 2021 levels, meaning new pure combustion-powered cars will still face very strict limits, making most of them effectively unviable or extremely expensive after 2035.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the UK still has a hard ban in place starting in 2035; i.e. all cars sold after that date must "Zero Emissions"?

-Uwe-

 

[BlueR32]

Unfortunately the gullible have bought into the climate extremism and caused great harm to society. Criminal politicians flying into Davos every year on their private jets are deciding how we must live.

VW's decision to bet the farm exclusively on EV's IMO was an unwise decision and it has cost them dearly. Their goal was to be the leader in EV sales worldwide in spite of consumers just saying "NO" to EVs for the most part. Without mandated zero emissions and financial bribes EV sales would likely be less than 2% of all auto sales.

I hope VW survives but I won't be buying an EV. Alternative fuels may spare ICE powered vehicles long enough for the world to realize EVs are not the solution to anything and that ICE powered vehicles are not the evil they were made out to be.

 

[golfi_vend]

Look at Charles video about VW losing it.

But honestly I am going electric. Feel of instant torque is nice...less ICE problems etc ... . Modern ICE is as or even more complicated as EV. Compared to pre-2000ish ofc ICE is simple, but in my experience electronics in those are just plain dying. I keep seeing self-erased chips day and night.

Then again mechanical diesel pumps still require some sort of precision tools

 

[BlueR32]

Long before Charles made his video I had opined that VW had lost it's way on many fronts. IME VW management does not value their customers, they take them for granted. That is a huge mistake IMO.

 

[golfi_vend]

I forgot...pre-cooling and pre-heating is very nice aswell. My cars have Aux.Heater(Webasto), but for cooling its just running fan.

My eGolf AC is broken and i struggle to find to fix it, but once its done...Paradise

 

[Uwe]

Without mandated zero emissions and financial bribes EV sales would likely be less than 2% of all auto sales.

Ah but Europe still has mandated zero emissions, or at least a 90% reduction by 2035. Unless that changes, not pursuing EV development would be rather short-sighted.

EVs are not the solution to anything

I've said it many times: Whether EVs make sense depends on the use-case. Would I want to run up and down the east coast of the USA in one like I do in my diesel-fueled vehicle? Hell no! Would I be happy to have one for local use, never having to buy fuel for it? Yes, I would.

-Uwe-

 

[BlueR32]

Maybe a miracle will happen and the talking heads in Urrup will discover by 2035 that their meritless mandates are not saving the planet. I don't care what vehicles people buy as long as I can buy and drive the vehicle of my choice.

There is no "free fuel" for EVs. You might recharge your EV via solar or wind but you have to pay for those systems. Yes you may have installed those systems primarily for your home but they still have installation cost and maintenance costs. While in the long run an EV may be cheaper to charge than an ICE powered vehicle is to refuel, electricity isn't free no matter how you obtain it.

And in most cases EVs cost more than an ICE powered vehicle to purchase. So it's really whatever "floats your boat". We should all be able to make that choice without the clueless "elites" dictating our choices. That is clearly not freedom. Even in Urrup only about ~20% of new car sales in 2025 were EV's so clearly the majority definitely prefer ICE powered vehicles.

 

[Uwe]

There is no "free fuel" for EVs.

I never claimed there was. However one of my solar systems produced 5000 kWh more than the house used in 2025. The power company gave me just under 3 cents/kWh at "true-up" time in mid December for If I had used some of those kWhs power an EV that got 3 miles / kWh, my "fuel" cost would have been $0.01 / mile. Free? No, but about an order of magnitude less than fueling an ICE. Of course the solar system wasn't free either; I viewed it as pre-purchasing energy for the next ~20 years. Call it a hedge.

Even in Urrup only about ~20% of new car sales in 2025 were EV's so clearly the majority definitely prefer ICE powered vehicles.

I think that once EVs achieve price parity with ICE cars, the natural "take rate" will be closer to 50%, and the potential in the long run is for them to be less expensive than a comparable ICE car, which will increase the natural take rate even more.

-Uwe-

 

[BlueR32]

Time will tell.