analysis
Last year, the Volkswagen Group sold more electric cars than ever before, with around 770,000 models. However, electromobility is currently in crisis. VW demands help from the state.
The figures that Volkswagen presented today show it – VW must continue to manage the balancing act: “maintain” the combustion engine models, as CFO Arno Antlitz puts it – and at the same time ramp up electromobility.
So far, this has largely been successful; the car manufacturer from Wolfsburg made good money last year, mainly thanks to its combustion engines – the bottom line was just under 18 billion euros in profit. At the same time, VW sold more electric cars than ever before. Currently, however, sales of electric cars have collapsed.
VW demands support from politicians
In the NDRInterview, CEO Oliver Blume therefore calls for “multifaceted support” from politicians: “These are binding regulations, these are appropriate CO2 targets, this is support for the charging infrastructure. And these are also subsidies, especially in the low price segment, to provide the incentive for To increase electromobility.”
There was such funding, but it was ended relatively abruptly by the federal government at the end of the year. The demand for electric cars then fell massively. The result: There is a lull in Zwickau and Emden – the plants that have already been converted to electromobility. Shifts have been canceled and there is no improvement in sight, at least in the short term. Other manufacturers have a similar situation.
“Bonuses spoil business”
And this despite the fact that electromobility is supposed to be the future. Automotive experts say that the federal government initially boosted sales with its electric car bonus – and then caused it to collapse when the funding ended at short notice. “The political framework conditions in Germany are not that positive at the moment,” says Helena Wisbert, professor of automotive economics at the Ostfalia University in Wolfsburg, cautiously.
“Customers are unsettled,” summarizes Felix Kuhnert from the consulting firm PwC. Frank Schwope, lecturer in automotive economics at the University of Applied Sciences for Medium-Sized Businesses in Hanover, is even clearer: “Premiums spoil business. They first stimulate demand and then cause it to collapse.”
Cheap electric model should come in 2026
One of the main reasons why many drivers still prefer to buy combustion engines over electric cars: they are significantly cheaper. And so, on the one hand, it is a blessing for VW that the group is still making good money with its combustion engine models – but there is still a lack of an affordable electric car in its range.
An electric model that costs around 25,000 euros will not be available until the beginning of 2026. “We are thinking very deeply about bringing a product onto the market that costs around 20,000 euros,” says Blume. “Because we at Volkswagen consider this segment to be particularly important in order to introduce young people to the brand.”
Batteries as the largest cost factor
Batteries are still the largest cost factor – even if technological progress is gradually making them cheaper, according to PwC expert Kuhnert. “We see a lot of potential there.” He warns against generally questioning the change to electromobility. “We need a consensus in society that we want to continue on the path to emission-free driving.”
Blume also sees “Electromobility as the right technology. It will be superior to combustion engines in a short time.” Blume therefore also warns against questioning the planned EU-wide phase-out of combustion engines from 2035. And he has the influential VW works council behind him. According to the employee representatives, all plans for the development of new models are aimed at the turning point in 2035. If politicians backed away from these plans, it would have serious consequences – including for jobs.
Chinese models are entering the market
It seems clear: VW needs to bring an affordable electric car onto the market as quickly as possible. Otherwise the big old car manufacturer could be left behind by new companies – especially from China. Automobile expert Schwope estimates that 20 to 30 new electric car brands will enter the European market. Not all of them would survive the competition, “but five to eight would probably survive in the end.”
VW boss Blume also knows this. We will now “put all our efforts into offering the right products. And if the whole environment is right, then electromobility will be successful.”