Volkswagen is promising an entry-level electric car by 2027. A corresponding vehicle could be seen at a company presentation on Thursday, although no details were visible. The working title of the vehicle is ID.1, whether it will come under this name remains to be seen, said VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer.
Four teams are currently working on proposals for the vehicle. A decision as to which project will be moved forward will be made in the coming weeks. He did not give any further details. The Wolfsburg-based company wants to bring a total of eleven electric cars from the Volkswagen brand onto the market in the next three years, including the ID.2 announced for 2026, which will come onto the market at a price starting at around 25,000 euros. as well as the models for the Chinese market developed together with the Chinese manufacturer “We are working conceptually on a solution and are not ruling out partnerships in this area.” The French car manufacturer Renault is considered a possible partner.Demand for electric cars is declining.The closer integration of the volume brands in the Volkswagen Group is now starting to bear fruit. The operating profit of the Core brand group, which includes the core brand Volkswagen, the commercial vehicle subsidiary, Skoda and Seat/Cupra, rose by 80 percent to 7.3 billion euros last year, primarily thanks to increasing sales, the company said. At 5.3 percent, the return was 1.7 percentage points higher than in 2022 – but still well below the target of 8 percent. For the Volkswagen brand alone it was 4.1 percent, 0.5 percentage points more than a year ago. Schäfer said that the closer cooperation in the brand group is taking effect. Further impulses from the savings program are to be expected in the current year, and the result should increase. Sales should also increase, especially through a better supply of raw materials and components. At the same time, the brand group is preparing for strong competition. Blume recently spoke of a “challenging market environment”, particularly in Western Europe. Demand for electric cars in particular has recently fallen, which is putting pressure on prices. Austerity for VWVolkswagen wants to reduce costs in its core brand by 10 billion euros by 2026, and in the current year alone it should be 4 billion euros. This means the return should rise to 6.5 percent by 2026. The group has even set a target of 8 percent for the entire brand group. CFO Patrik Mayer said that the program helps to better prepare for headwinds such as rising costs. The measures for the current year have already been fully initiated, and for the coming year this applies to 80 percent of the necessary measures Steps for 2026 should be 80 percent clear in the third quarter, said Schäfer. “This will help us to increase our competitiveness going forward.” Volkswagen expects to make savings, among other things, by cutting jobs in indirect areas, i.e. in administration, or by eliminating night shifts. Mayer said that capacities would be flexibly adjusted, for example in shift systems. “We don’t see the need for factory closures.” Volkswagen also expects lower costs in sales or development, for example if processes are to be simplified, fewer prototypes built or development times shortened. In addition, the different brands should work even more closely together in the production, development and sale of the cars.
source site-13