Volkswagen AG
’s
VWAGY
ID.3 set a new record by becoming the top-selling electric vehicle (EV) in Europe for the month of October.
Amid the heightening climate-change concerns, the European government is providing greater subsidies to automakers abiding by the stringent emission standards and offering green transportation solutions. Amid this transforming scenario, EVs have become pivot in Europe. Moreover, the electrified car sales in Europe surged 153% year over year to 302,587 units in October, while the all-electric car sales in particular skyrocketed 197% to 71,800 units.
Notably, the Volkswagen’s ID.3 hatchback, which hit the markets only in September, registered sale of 10,475 units in October, narrowly surpassing the second best
Renault SA
’s
RNLSY
Zoe subcompact by approximately 700 units and massively defeating
Tesla
’s
TSLA
834 Model 3 sedans sold. ID.3 even emerged as the best-selling car overall in Norway, The Netherlands and Ireland, capturing more than 19% of the overall market share in Norway.
Renault and its partner
Nissan Motor Co.
NSANY
have long enjoyed a dominant position in EV sales in the European market only to be beaten by the soaring ID.3 sales in October as Volkswagen’s Zwickau manufacturing site commenced production in full swing. ID.3 topped the European sales chart in October on its relatively affordable price. The best of the rest was Hyundai Kona Electric, with sale of 5,261 units.
Nevertheless, what came in as a major shock was that the red-hot EV maker, Tesla, was nowhere in the radar of Europe’s Top 10 EVs for the month in discussion.
Volkswagen to Roll Out Compact Electric Cars
In its quest to revolutionize the EV market and shape a green future, Volkswagen is set to develop a small electric car for the mass market in Europe.
The Germany-based automaker is targeting to build a robust foothold in this era of e-mobility which has clouded the European automotive industry with its Small BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) program.
Under this project, Volkswagen engineers anticipate to develop a purely-battery enabled car around the size of a Polo. The new vehicle will be cheaper than ID.3 and shall be available for a price range of 20,000-25,000 euros ($24,000-30,000).
Volkswagen failed to release details on the look and a launch date for the new vehicle.
Per the auto biggie, the European Union’s tight emission standards have forced the automaker to hike the proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles in its European car sales to 60% by 2030, up from the earlier target of 40%. The company, in fact, currently plans to develop 1.5 million electric cars by 2025.
Earlier this month, the automaker boosted its planned investment in digital and electric vehicle capabilities to 73 billion euros ($86 billion) over the coming five years, of which around 35 billion euros will be consumed for the company’s electrification plans.
Volkswagen currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Notably, shares of the company have declined 0.6%, year to date, while the
industry
has rallied 20.4%.
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