Overall sales tanked but demand for their EVs and PHEVs grew significantly
Volkswagen Group global sales for the pandemic-hit 2020 saw a decline of 15.2% with over 9,305,400 vehicles delivered to customers. But it’s not all doom and gloom for the German conglomerate as there was an exceptional demand for their range of electrified vehicles with over 422,100 units sold throughout the last year.
Out of the total number, 231,600 were all-electric vehicles while 190,500 were plug-in hybrids. Recording over 56,500 sales, Volkswagen’s ID.3 emerged as the Group’s most popular EV, followed by the Audi e-tron (47,300), Volkswagen e-Golf (41,300), Volkswagen e-Up! (22,200) and Porsche Taycan (20,000). These figures work out to an increase of 214% compared to the year before.
Meanwhile, the top five plug-in hybrid models are the Volkswagen Passat (27,200), Audi Q5 (23,500), Porsche Cayenne (21,500), Skoda Superb (16,400) and Volkswagen Golf (15,200). According to Volkswagen Group, the demand for the plug-in hybrids saw remarkable growth of 175% last year.
The following press release has more information on Volkswagen Group’s 2020 sales performance:
PRESS RELEASE
The Volkswagen Group handed over 9,305,400 vehicles to customers worldwide in 2020, a decrease of 15.2 percent year-on-year due to Covid-19. In December, deliveries were down just 3.2 percent on the same month of the previous year, while in the fourth quarter they declined by a total of 5.7 percent. This meant that the Group slightly expanded its global passenger car market share in 2020 amid a declining overall market. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Group’s e-offensive with a large number of new models met with keen interest from customers in the year now ended and resulted in deliveries of approximately 231,600 all-electric vehicles, more than three times the volumes delivered in 2019. Plug-in hybrids were also very popular with customers, who purchased 190,500 units (+175 per-cent). In Western Europe, the share of electric vehicles therefore surged to 10.5 percent of overall deliveries (2019: 1.9 percent).
“The Covid-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Head of Volkswagen Group Sales. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position. We are particularly pleased that we hit the ground running in our e-offensive in spite of the pandemic and thus took a big step forward in the implementation of our Together 2025+ strategy. We will keep up the momentum this year, adding many more attractive electric models.”
Top 5 all-electric models:
– Volkswagen ID.302 56,500 units
– Audi e-tron 47,300 units
– Volkswagen e-Golf03 41,300 units
– Volkswagen e-up!04 22,200 units
– Porsche Taycan 20,000 units
Top 5 plug-in hybrid models:
– Volkswagen Passat05 27,200 units
– Audi Q5 23,500 units
– Porsche Cayenne06 21,500 units
– ŠKODA Superb07 16,400 units
– Volkswagen Golf 15,200 units
Deliveries in the regions developed as follows in 2020:
A total of 3,616,900 vehicles were delivered in Europe (-20.5 percent) and the passenger car market share was expanded to a significant degree. In Western Europe, 2,939,900 customers took possession of a Group brand vehicle (-21.6 percent). Battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids were very popular here, accounting for 10.5 percent of the Group’s deliveries in Western Europe (2019: 1.9 percent). Demand for electric models was even stronger in Germany, the Group’s home market, where electric vehicles made up 11.6 percent of Group deliveries (2019: 1.5 percent). Here, a total of 1,097,700 vehicles across all drive systems were handed over to customers (-19.5 percent). Deliveries in Central and Eastern Europe declined by 15.6 percent to 677,000 units.
In North America, 785,800 customers took delivery of a new Group brand vehicle, 17.4 percent fewer than in the previous year. Deliveries in the USA registered a slightly softer fall of 12.1 percent to 574,800 units.
In South America, the Group succeeded in significantly expanding its market share. A total of 489,700 vehicles were handed over to customers, representing a 19.5 percent decrease on 2019. In Brazil, the region’s largest market, deliveries fell on a similar scale by 19.7 percent to 377,600 units.
The Asia-Pacific region was the fastest to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here, the Volkswagen Group saw deliveries drop by 9.1 percent to 4,122,200 units. In China, the Group’s largest single market, deliveries were down 9.1 percent, with 3,849,000 vehicles sold.
