Volkswagen faces considerable challenges, especially in the area of electric vehicles. Martin Sander, a new sales manager at VW since the beginning of the month, has to deal with the shift of the ID.Golf and other models. The ID.Golf, the group's new electric car, will not be launched until 2029.
Delayed vehicle architecture and software problems
Shortly after taking office, it became known that the introduction of the new vehicle architecture SSP (Scalable System Platform) will be postponed again. This architecture was originally supposed to be the basis for many future models from 2025, but will be available at the earliest in 2029. This delay mainly affects Volkswagen and Audi. The main reason for the delays is problems with the new software architecture E3 2.0, which should be operated with the SSP platform. The software is so late that the planned models cannot be introduced as intended, which leads to significant shifts.
Economic challenges
In addition to the technical problems, VW also faces economic challenges. The sales figures of the ID. Models stagnate. In the first half of 2023, 168,500 ID models were sold, which is only two percent more than in the previous year. In addition, the works in Zwickau and Emden are subsequently undermined. From 2025, VW will face penalty payments of the EU if the permitted CO₂ emissions are exceeded.
Martin Sander therefore faces the challenge of increasing sales and stabilizing the economic situation of the company. Thomas Schäfer, VWS brand boss, emphasized the important role of sales for the result improvement program, with which more than 10 billion euros in additional profit is to be achieved by 2026. Sales should import around 4 billion of this.
Future prospects and cooperation
Despite the delays, there is hope for earlier market launches of some VW electric models based on partnerships with Xpeng and Rivian. In particular, the planned ID.2, an electric car electric car, could benefit from these partnerships.
The ID.Golf, which is now to be launched at the earliest in 2029, is not the only model that is delayed. T-sports, a larger electric VW SUV, should not be available until 2031. These delays are not only due to technical, but also to economic reasons. The current MEB platform must be used longer to justify the investments before the new SSP models are introduced.
outlook
The coming years will be decisive for VW. With new partnerships and an improved sales strategy, VW tries to compensate for delays and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. It will be shown whether Martin Sander and his team can master these challenges. However, it is clear that VW will continue to invest strongly in the development and expansion of its electric vehicle fleet in order to survive in global competition.
Stay up to date to find out how VW will master the current challenges and which new models will come onto the market in the coming years.