Thread by @jpr007

VW STRUGGLING TO SELL ID.3

Greenpeace has published a new report examining the weak response to the new ID.3 in Europe

- and particularly in its home market of Germany

greenpeace.de/sites/www.gree…

VW is positioning itself as the German pioneer in the transition from diesels and petrol engines in favour of electric cars

And with the market launch of their ID models, the world's largest carmaker promises "e-mobility for all"

Group CEO Herbert Diess never misses an opportunity to emphasise the importance of battery cars in the fight against climate change

In the aftermath of the 2015 diesel scandal, positive communication on the transition to BEVs is an important part of a new image cultivation

The ID.3 is supposed to make the brand "more empathetic, friendlier, more human", it was said at its presentation last year

And apparently this message strategy has had some success:

- for the first time in four years, VW's image improved in the YouGov BrandIndex brand monitor

But while VW is going full throttle with its communications, sales of the new e-cars are barely getting off the ground

According to VW, 54,000 orders for the ID.3 had been received across Europe by the end of November, and 28,000 vehicles had been delivered

Considering that there were already 33,000 non-binding pre-orders for the introductory version of the ID.3 in 2019, this figure is disappointing

- especially since additional subsidies for e-cars have recently been provided in many countries

With the innovation premium of the German government which was extended in November 2020 until 2025, strong sales support is also available in Germany in particular

However, according to national registration statistics only 2,439 ID.3s were registered in Germany in November 2020

- fewer than Renault Zoe with 4,287 units

- and Hyundai E-Kona with 2,471 units

At the same time, the ID.3 has only been available since September 2020, while the e-models of the competition have already been on the market for years

- so a higher initial surge of demand would have been expected

In total, only 7,349 ID.3s have been registered in Germany since deliveries began

Of these, more than 3000 were VW’s own registrations, i.e. cars registered to VW itself or to VW dealers

How did this comparatively weak start of the ID.3 come about ?

Attributing it to a lack of demand is not an adequate explanation

In fact, VW itself is doing little to promote the actual sales of e-cars

One could even say that the carmaker is even slowing it down

This report shows that :

- VW has no interest in accelerating BEV transition and plans the sales of its electric cars solely along the lines of the European regulatory requirements for fleet emissions

- there are no incentives for VW dealers and sales staff to sell a BEV instead of an ICEV to undecided customers

- other models are being pushed onto the market with attractive special conditions subsidised by VW, while no equivalent measures exist for the ID.3

For this report, Greenpeace spoke to industry insiders, dealers and Volkswagen salespeople

In addition, Greenpeace verified the information they obtained with the help of "mystery shoppers"

- 56 volunteers from local Greenpeace groups conducted consultations on the purchase of a new car in a total of 50 VW dealerships

- in their discussions with the sales staff they used a standardised driving profile which VW claims is suitable for the use of the ID.3

The test purchases showed that

- the ID.3 was only recommended by the salesperson in 1 out of 25 cases where the prospective buyer did not express a preference at the beginning of the conversation

- the ID.3 was only recommended by the salespersons in 7 out of 25 cases when the prospective buyers indicated at the beginning of the conversation that they were wavering between ID.3 and Golf 8

- the salespersons were only superficially trained in the subject of electromobility and on average were unable to answer every second question or 48% of those posed by the prospective buyers, or they provided incorrect information

- in individual cases sales staff clearly advised against buying the ID.3 and expressed fundamental doubts about electromobility