Volkswagen Group's 2021 can be called "textbook" money. Although car sales fell by 600,000 units compared to 2020, operating profit grew to almost 20 billion euros, almost doubling.
Volkswagen also did not shy away from revealing the secret of making money, "By selling models with higher levels of configuration, we have improved the quality of profitability." By systematically distributing chips, we were able to ensure a profit margin increase in the face of declining sales volumes. "Seeing that Bentley and Porsche achieved high profit margins of 13.7% and 16.5% respectively, how exactly does volkswagen group distribute the chips that are in short supply? The answer is self-evident.
This side is high profits and high growth, but there is a hidden worry that electric vehicles have not completely knocked on the door of the Chinese market. In 2021, volkswagen group sales of electric vehicles soared to 452,900 units. For reference, the Volkswagen Group's largest global electric vehicle market is in Europe and the United States, with 92,700 electric vehicles delivered in China alone.
Volkswagen's electric vehicle sales soared: first in Europe and second in the United States
In 2021, more than 1.2 million electric vehicles will be sold in Europe. Among them, Tesla Model 3 is the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe, but the Electric Vehicles of Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and other brands under the Volkswagen Group are also very good to sell. From the relevant data, the Volkswagen Group's electric vehicle market share in Europe has reached 25%. In Germany's "hometown", one in every five pure electric vehicles is Volkswagen. It is worth mentioning that in the top ten sales list, Hyundai, Renault, Peugeot and other brands have representative models on the list.
While China's electric vehicle sales are the highest, Europe is the region with the highest rate of electric vehicle use. According to Brother Rudder, 19% of new car sales in Europe in 2021 will be electric vehicles, which highlights the popularity of electric vehicles in Europe.
In fact, the sale of electric vehicles in Europe is inseparable from the increasingly stringent local emissions policies. Even with a shortage of chips, rising energy costs and shipping, many automakers are tilting their resources toward all-electric and plug-in hybrid models to meet Europe's strictest carbon regulations in history. However, in the environment that is not friendly to fuel vehicles, car companies can be forced to upgrade their technology and accelerate the transformation of electrification.
Looking to the U.S. market, sales of new energy vehicles in the United States will be about 650,000 units in 2021. The biggest winner is Tesla, which, with Its Modle3 and ModleY, occupies nearly 70% of the market share of new energy vehicles in the United States. Volkswagen Group ranks second in the U.S. market with a share of about 7.5 percent, behind Tesla. Although the gap is a bit large, Tesla's hegemony is difficult to shake in a short period of time. Overall, Europe and the United States are the top two markets for the best sales of electric vehicles in the Volkswagen Group, does this mean that Volkswagen electric is not suitable for the Chinese market?
The Chinese market has no right to speak, where does the public go?
Compared with the infinitely better scenery in the European market, Volkswagen's electric vehicle sales in China are not satisfactory. In 2021, the cumulative sales of new energy passenger cars in China reached 2.989 million units, the Volkswagen Group delivered 92,700 electric vehicles in China alone, while the Volkswagen brand sold 77,000 pure electric vehicles in China. Although the number of deliveries is more than 4 times that of 2020, the growth momentum is good, but considering the small base and the overall proportion, this achievement is really not impressive.
Whether it is FAW-Volkswagen ID.4 CROZZ, SAIC Volkswagen ID.4 X, or ID.6 specially built for the Chinese market, the sales performance can only be said to be unsatisfactory. It is puzzling that volkswagen ID series electric vehicles have achieved great success in the European market, and the ID.3 and ID.4 models continue to sell well, so why is it unsatisfactory to enter the country? Brother Ruan speculated that perhaps the public failed to predict the preferences of domestic consumers in advance. From the current trend of car purchase, the Chinese people choose electric vehicles most concerned about intelligent performance, especially the functional configuration of intelligent vehicles and intelligent driving aids, in addition, mileage and acceleration performance are also particularly valued by consumers.
Although the Volkswagen ID series models take care of the driving experience of the Chinese people and make it closer to the electric vehicle in terms of driving texture, their performance in the cockpit and driver assistance systems is still relatively conservative. In addition, the Volkswagen ID.3 was launched late, the price advantage in the short term has not yet been fully exerted, and the price range of the previous ID.4 is not close enough to the people, which also has an impact on the overall sales. Combining various factors, Volkswagen wants to do a big job in the field of electric vehicles, and there are still many places that need to be adjusted to better meet the needs of Chinese consumers. Especially in terms of intelligence and acceleration performance, it is still the short board of Volkswagen electric vehicles.
No matter how difficult it is to nibble, what big trick does the public have?
Facing the difficulties encountered in the Chinese market, Volkswagen Group (China) CEO Feng Sihan said that he would continue to move forward under the guidance of the ACCELERATE strategy.
The first is the product side, by 2026, Volkswagen will launch at least one new pure electric model every year, focusing on the value, quality and innovation of the vehicle. Not long ago, ID.Buzz world debut, this model is full of popularity, is expected to set a new sales peak for Volkswagen in the electric vehicle market. During the year, Volkswagen will also launch the id.5, the first pure electric SUV coupe, and the ID.Aero concept car that will be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show. Looking forward to 2025, the pure electric small car ID.Life built on the MEB platform will be mass-produced and launched, which also means that Volkswagen will provide a pure electric model in each market segment.
In addition to launching more new models, Volkswagen has also improved product features and services. Volkswagen, for example, will provide OTA remote upgrades for users of the ID family model in the Chinese market. At present, OTA upgrades have become the standard for a new generation of smart cars, whether they are fuel vehicles or electric vehicles.
Moreover, Volkswagen said that more L2+ level autonomous driving assist functions will be fully mass-produced in the next two years, which is also a long-overdue but indispensable configuration. According to The Brother, in order to meet the needs of Chinese users, Volkswagen China's software research and development team is growing, and the future R & D personnel will double. On the other hand, Volkswagen will expand its city showrooms and agents in order to attract more people to understand and buy Volkswagen ID models. This is the "inspiration" brought by the new forces of car manufacturing, different from the 4S stores in the era of fuel vehicles, and now people hope to learn about the most advanced electric vehicles in supermarkets or urban CBDs, and get more intimate services.
With the influence of Volkswagen Group in the domestic automobile market, the proportion of its electric vehicles is obviously not as good as expected. According to Volkswagen's plan, by 2030, its market share of new energy vehicles in China will increase to the same share of the fuel vehicle market as it currently has. With a few more years to go, volkswagen will have to work harder. Otherwise, it is really difficult to say who will dominate the auto market in the future.