One of the biggest hurdles to mass EV adoption involves the historically high price tags associated with these cars. Faced with high inventory and discouraged buyers, carmakers have recently become entangled in a price war, as legacy and EV firms alike have been forced to slash their prices (and cut into their margins) in an effort to beat out the competition and entice buyers.
In an effort to challenge Tesla's (TSLA) -) dominance of the market, Volkswagen (VLKAF) -) unveiled a few new concept EVs at the IAA Mobility motor show in Munich over the weekend, highlighting a long-term plan to offer the widest available EV range on the market, increasing accessibility while also tapping into luxury.
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The European automaker said Sunday that by 2027, it will launch 11 new fully electric models, the most accessible of which will be priced at fewer than 25,000 euros ($26,800). Tesla's cheapest model, the Model 3, starts at around $37,000 before tax incentives.
Volkswagen plans to produce only electric vehicles in Europe by 2033 at the latest; over the next decade, it will continue to offer combustion and hybrid models.
In keeping with that effort to increase the efficiency of combustion, a plug-in hybrid version of the company's popular Passat and Tiguan models will be made available soon, each with an electric range of about 100 km (62 miles).
"We are making the final generation of our combustion engine models better than ever before,” Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said.
The company also revealed a new all-electric iteration of its GTI model, the ID.GTI, though it remains unclear when the car will be available, what price point Volkswagen is targeting and what kind of range it will offer.
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This boost to the automaker's "electric offensive" comes as Volkswagen Group (which is made up of Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, among others) is working to threaten Tesla's position as the EV leader.
In the second quarter of 2023, Volkswagen sold a total of around 2.3 million cars globally; all-electric EV sales amounted to 180,600 cars, 7.7% of the company's total volume and a 53% increase from the prior year. Volkswagen Group sold a total of 321,000 EVs during the first half of 2023, a 48% increase from the year before.
Though Volkswagen does seem to be catching up, Tesla's throne seems solidly above the brand's best efforts; the company sold 466,000 EVs in the second quarter of the year.
Tesla sold close to 900,000 EVs in the first half of the year.
