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Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.

VW and partner SAIC start building $2.5B Audi plant in China

BEIJING — Volkswagen AG's China joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp has started building a $2.5 billion new energy vehicle (NEV) plant in Shanghai, which will make VW's luxury Audi brand cars, a possible first for the venture. The new plant is a key step for Audi to diversify production of its cars in the world's largest car market from its long-standing local partner, China FAW Group Corp. This shift has been delayed amid resistance from local dealers. SAIC Volkswagen said the new plant would have an annual capacity to make 300,000 cars and begin production from 2020. Audi sold 481,387 vehicles in China from January to September this year. The announcement comes the same week Tesla secured a Shanghai location for a Gigafactory battery plant to serve the Chinese market. Audi unveiled the plan to bolster ties with SAIC in late 2016. Earlier this year, the Germany luxury carmaker bought a 1 percent stake in the SAIC Volkswagen venture, paving the way for the joint venture to produce and sell Audi cars. Volkswagen currently gets a larger proportion of the proceeds from the 50-50 tie-up with SAIC than from its 40 percent stake in the venture with FAW. SAIC Volkswagen said in a statement on Friday the plant would cost 17 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) and would make VW and Skoda models as well as Audi cars. It will help VW tap China's fast-growing market for NEVs, a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. ($1 = 6.9314 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Yilei Sun and Adam JourdanRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Audi Volkswagen Skoda Electric Hybrid

8 new cars that are selling below MSRP

Car shopping has been a frustrating activity for many people in recent years, as strained new car inventories have led to markups and elevated prices across the board. It’s been difficult to find vehicles at anywhere near a reasonable price, and some in-demand models are still listed at a premium today. iSeeCarsÂ’ most recent study looked at several aspects of the new and used vehicle markets and found a handful of models that are selling at a discount – a rarity in todayÂ’s world. Most of the vehicles selling below MSRP in October were electric, though the Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX80 made the top eight. To be clear, weÂ’re not talking about huge discounts here – the Kia EV6 was selling with the largest discount of 3.1%. The other models on the list include: Kia EV6: -3.1 percent off MSRP Ford F-150 hybrid: -2.8% Hyundai Ioniq 6: -2.7% Nissan Armada: -1.8% Hyundai Ioniq 5: -0.9% VW ID.4: -0.6% Kia Niro EV: -0.3% Infiniti QX80: -0.2% Electric and hybrid vehicles like the Kia and Ford have been selling at a premium for a long time, as they experienced stronger than expected demand and had challenging early production runs. That theyÂ’re now selling at a discount could indicate wavering buyer demand, but itÂ’s too early to start sounding any serious alarm bells. Though some models are getting cheaper, the industry average is still heading in the wrong direction. The average MSRP of new cars sold last month was $42,510, while the average sales price was $46,077. That 8.4% overage is surprising to see so many months after the worst of the pandemic has passed. iSeeCarsÂ’ executive analyst Karl Brauer had a few words of encouragement, however, saying, “There are still very few ‘dealsÂ’ in the new car market. Shoppers looking to pay below MSRP for a new car will have to do their research, but a small number of models can be bought below sticker price.” Green Ford Hyundai Infiniti Kia Nissan Volkswagen Car Buying cheap cars