Well, I mean, yeah. They still have an entire ICE-based lineup that they wish to continue selling. The Tiguan and Passat are brand new this year.
Recoil42
>*Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference in London, Schäfer echoed Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida and Hyundai president José Muñoz, who each suggested their firms would maintain a flexible powertrain offering as EV demand wavers.*
>*Asked by Autocar if Volkswagen would continue investing in hybrids, Schäfer said: “Hybrids were a thing of the past. Last year, if you asked the same question, it would have been: ‘Forget hybrids, it’s expensive technology, it’s not worth it.’ Within the last six months, all of a sudden everyone wants hybrids.*
>*”When we said we were going to offer hybrid on the Tiguan, Golf, Passat and so on, we were frowned upon. People said: ‘Why are you doing this? Go faster [towards full electrification].’ Now I’m very glad we did. We have an offer and we will probably have to even extend it.*
>*”It’s a bridge technology. While battery-electric drive is plateauing out a bit at the moment, we still need this transitional technology.”*
manicdee33
On one hand, PHEVs are an expensive way to own an electrified vehicle because you have the entire ICE engine to lug around with you everywhere, and that requires regular maintenance (and fuel).
On the other hand, PHEVs are one way for a company with insufficient motivation to go 100% electric to slowly wean themselves out of vehicle manufacturing as the BEV manufacturers eat the entire market.
Ok-Research7136
Never buying another gas burner.
mickeys_stepdad
At this rate the dream of an electric gti or beetle is dead.
The demands not there because the current lineup on the market isn’t desirable
drewc717
EV demand has only slowed because marketing departments have not sold them hard enough to anyone beyond an early adopter in fear of highlighting how bad their ICE platforms compare over time.
I think there is also unresolved fear from legacy OEMs on how to retain their fortunes from maintenance and service that vaporize with EV adoption.
Gromby
as an American, I am still waiting to see the final god damn price of the US release IDBuzz that everyone seems to love….ffs PLEASE
mastrdestruktun
The PHEV Golf would be perfect for me. Its electric-only range is similar to my 10yo 500e’s range, but range anxiety would be a thing of the past. Too bad it’s not sold in my country.
wooooooofer
From someone closely linked to a lot of auto OEMs let me say this…..
From an Executive level, Automakers (ALL OF THEM FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE BACK) besides Tesla and BYD are absolutely salivating for the complete death or dramatic slow down of EV adoption. Don’t kid yourself. The EV transition is hard and expensive and makes life suck for executives. Legacy auto is struggling more than you know.
borgeron
Im still waiting for them to launch their electric cars in Australia. Demand has a tendency to plateau when you make people wait forever for your product to appear. They move on to other products
CapRichard
They should have made a Full Hybrid system.
Jovial_Banter
Autocar is fossil press and consistently pushes an anti EV narrative. This could also be car companies lobbying against the removal of subsidies in Germany.
As far as I can tell the narrative that EV sales have plateau’d is a lie. According to the IEA, EV sales were 35% higher in 2023 than 2022. While this is a slightly slower rate of growth than the two years before, the trend is good and sales are strong.
I’m somewhat surprised there aren’t more PHEVs on the market.
Sure they have a basic requirement that they need to be charged every day.
But they are a great option for those who want to introduce some electric driving but don’t want to go the whole way.
jamesbong0024
Also put fucking buttons on the dash for controls. No one wants to play with an iPad to change the temperature. I would have an ID.4 by now but I’m waiting for them to get their shit together.
UnloadTheBacon
EV demand hasn’t plateaued, but prices sure have. Most people can’t justify 40-50k on a new car.
15 Comments
Well, I mean, yeah. They still have an entire ICE-based lineup that they wish to continue selling. The Tiguan and Passat are brand new this year.
>*Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference in London, Schäfer echoed Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida and Hyundai president José Muñoz, who each suggested their firms would maintain a flexible powertrain offering as EV demand wavers.*
>*Asked by Autocar if Volkswagen would continue investing in hybrids, Schäfer said: “Hybrids were a thing of the past. Last year, if you asked the same question, it would have been: ‘Forget hybrids, it’s expensive technology, it’s not worth it.’ Within the last six months, all of a sudden everyone wants hybrids.*
>*”When we said we were going to offer hybrid on the Tiguan, Golf, Passat and so on, we were frowned upon. People said: ‘Why are you doing this? Go faster [towards full electrification].’ Now I’m very glad we did. We have an offer and we will probably have to even extend it.*
>*”It’s a bridge technology. While battery-electric drive is plateauing out a bit at the moment, we still need this transitional technology.”*
On one hand, PHEVs are an expensive way to own an electrified vehicle because you have the entire ICE engine to lug around with you everywhere, and that requires regular maintenance (and fuel).
On the other hand, PHEVs are one way for a company with insufficient motivation to go 100% electric to slowly wean themselves out of vehicle manufacturing as the BEV manufacturers eat the entire market.
Never buying another gas burner.
At this rate the dream of an electric gti or beetle is dead.
The demands not there because the current lineup on the market isn’t desirable
EV demand has only slowed because marketing departments have not sold them hard enough to anyone beyond an early adopter in fear of highlighting how bad their ICE platforms compare over time.
I think there is also unresolved fear from legacy OEMs on how to retain their fortunes from maintenance and service that vaporize with EV adoption.
as an American, I am still waiting to see the final god damn price of the US release IDBuzz that everyone seems to love….ffs PLEASE
The PHEV Golf would be perfect for me. Its electric-only range is similar to my 10yo 500e’s range, but range anxiety would be a thing of the past. Too bad it’s not sold in my country.
From someone closely linked to a lot of auto OEMs let me say this…..
From an Executive level, Automakers (ALL OF THEM FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE BACK) besides Tesla and BYD are absolutely salivating for the complete death or dramatic slow down of EV adoption. Don’t kid yourself. The EV transition is hard and expensive and makes life suck for executives. Legacy auto is struggling more than you know.
Im still waiting for them to launch their electric cars in Australia. Demand has a tendency to plateau when you make people wait forever for your product to appear. They move on to other products
They should have made a Full Hybrid system.
Autocar is fossil press and consistently pushes an anti EV narrative. This could also be car companies lobbying against the removal of subsidies in Germany.
As far as I can tell the narrative that EV sales have plateau’d is a lie. According to the IEA, EV sales were 35% higher in 2023 than 2022. While this is a slightly slower rate of growth than the two years before, the trend is good and sales are strong.
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2024/trends-in-electric-cars
I’m somewhat surprised there aren’t more PHEVs on the market.
Sure they have a basic requirement that they need to be charged every day.
But they are a great option for those who want to introduce some electric driving but don’t want to go the whole way.
Also put fucking buttons on the dash for controls. No one wants to play with an iPad to change the temperature. I would have an ID.4 by now but I’m waiting for them to get their shit together.
EV demand hasn’t plateaued, but prices sure have. Most people can’t justify 40-50k on a new car.