[notspeedy]

VW could easily sell more cars in the US if they would sell EU spec cars in the USA. The eu cars they sell are so much cooler than the US counterparts.

Take my money please for an ID 5
Hurry up and get me an Audi Q4 E-tron sportback!

Ive been holding off my purchase for an EV for like 2 years now! I have money burning a hole in my pocket. Who will get my money first? Waiting on the following
id 5 (wont hold my breath now)
q4 etron sportback
maybe awd id 4 or q4
texas built tesla model y
something else thats as good or better before the others listed.

 

[Nai3t]

I betcha as soon as Chatanooga fires up their MEB assembly line and this logistics mess untangles, your wishes will be granted.

 

[rth121]

Inventory shortage isn't helping... and neither is dealer with their price gouging.

 

[notspeedy]

Inventory shortage isn't helping... and neither is dealer with their price gouging.

perhaps..but so tired of waiting....

 

[notspeedy]

I also think VW and others are under estimating the EV market in the US. I think the ID3 would do well in the US, and also the cupra urban rebel concept (less the wing!).

 

[sprylo]

I also think VW and others are under estimating the EV market in the US. I think the ID3 would do well in the US, and also the cupra urban rebel concept (less the wing!).

Put yourself in Volkswagen's shoes. You currently have one factory building the ID.3 and ID.4 for both the European and US markets. It's running at full capacity, so every ID.3 you make means one fewer ID.4 and every EV you sell in the US means one fewer you can sell in Europe (where missing your CO2 target costs you real money). In 2020, you sold about 19,000 hatchbacks in the US and about 188,000 SUVs. There are multiple EV hatchbacks on the market in the US and zero non-luxury EV SUVs. Your profit margins are probably better on the SUV, too. What would you do?

It's not so much that they had to decide which EV to sell in the US, but which EV to sell in the US first. The whole equation changes when Chattanooga comes online (first the EV expansion, then the repurposed Passat line). It might take a few years, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the ID.3 show up here in some form or another. Maybe only as a GTX version to fill the GTI/Golf R niche. There will be more VW EVs to choose from, just not yet.

Keep in mind, too, that at the moment the only thing Volkswagen needs to do to sell more cars in the US is to have more cars available to sell.

 

[JimmyVW]

Lol, full capacity 🤣
Think it doesn’t even run at 50% atm, purely due to the parts shortage.

 

[notspeedy]

Put yourself in Volkswagen's shoes. You currently have one factory building the ID.3 and ID.4 for both the European and US markets. It's running at full capacity, so every ID.3 you make means one fewer ID.4 and every EV you sell in the US means one fewer you can sell in Europe (where missing your CO2 target costs you real money). In 2020, you sold about 19,000 hatchbacks in the US and about 188,000 SUVs. There are multiple EV hatchbacks on the market in the US and zero non-luxury EV SUVs. Your profit margins are probably better on the SUV, too. What would you do?

It's not so much that they had to decide which EV to sell in the US, but which EV to sell in the US first. The whole equation changes when Chattanooga comes online (first the EV expansion, then the repurposed Passat line). It might take a few years, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the ID.3 show up here in some form or another. Maybe only as a GTX version to fill the GTI/Golf R niche. There will be more VW EVs to choose from, just not yet.

Keep in mind, too, that at the moment the only thing Volkswagen needs to do to sell more cars in the US is to have more cars available to sell.

idk Tesla was able to push out 4 model cars ( s,3,x,y,) worldwide from fremont.

 

[sprylo]

Lol, full capacity 🤣
Think it doesn’t even run at 50% atm, purely due to the parts shortage.

Full capacity in the sense that they are making as many vehicles as possible given the current situation. In other words, "just increase production" isn't a solution to the problem.

 

[JimmyVW]

Ok, totally agree with you there. VW is definitely doing its best to crank out as many as they can at the moment, given the situation

 

[Pxpxpunk]

VW would sell more EV’s if they decided to treat them like the platform of the future they are. Make them easy to buy at sticker price (mandate dealers sell at that price or cut off deliveries), ditch the horrible software interface for something that actually looks like 21st century technology and not an adaptation of their 10 year old infotainment screens found in other cars, give people the features they expect (more autonomy and app connectivity features)….

love my id4, but it’s very much “let’s see how we can keep our ICE engineering alive since it’s already done and paid for as much as possible instead of everything built from the ground up.”

 

[NBCGLX]

I’ve had so many VW’s, all but one of which was bought new, that I literally have to count them to remember how many. Point being, I’ve been driving VW’s for the better part of 25 years and the one common theme among many, many enthusiasts is that we wish models and options found outside the U.S. made their way to our shores. It’s maddening how much cool “stuff” VW offers in Europe, for example, that is just a pipe dream for this of us in the U.S.

 

[BlueDH]

VW would sell more EV’s if they decided to treat them like the platform of the future they are. Make them easy to buy at sticker price (mandate dealers sell at that price or cut off deliveries), ditch the horrible software interface for something that actually looks like 21st century technology and not an adaptation of their 10 year old infotainment screens found in other cars, give people the features they expect (more autonomy and app connectivity features)….

love my id4, but it’s very much “let’s see how we can keep our ICE engineering alive since it’s already done and paid for as much as possible instead of everything built from the ground up.”

Supply and demand 🤨.
'Nuff said.

 

[NOLAEV]

better level 3 charging network!!!!!! i live in New Orleans La and commute to Baton Rouge Louisiana every day. New Orleans and Baton Rouge are the two largest cities in the state and neither one has a electrify America charging station. even the Volkswagen dealership across the street from where I work does not even have a level two available to the public.

 

[Fahrer]

VW could easily sell more cars in the US if they would sell EU spec cars in the USA. The eu cars they sell are so much cooler than the US counterparts.

Take my money please for an ID 5
Hurry up and get me an Audi Q4 E-tron sportback!

Ive been holding off my purchase for an EV for like 2 years now! I have money burning a hole in my pocket. Who will get my money first? Waiting on the following
id 5 (wont hold my breath now)
q4 etron sportback
maybe awd id 4 or q4
texas built tesla model y
something else thats as good or better before the others listed.

I would disagree with your first statement. VW sales have been very limited for many years selling EU spec cars in the US. Now that they are designing and making cars for the US customers ( cheaper and larger including Jetta, Atlas) sales have increased significantly. EU spec cars now sold in the US include the Arteon, GTI and Golf R. These are more expensive and the sales numbers will remain limited.

EDIT: The Golf had a better ( more expensive) rear suspension and better interior than the Jetta but it has a hatch and Americans prefer larger cars even if they are lower quality. Therefore, the Golf ( a big seller around the world) is now history in the US.

I plan to purchase an EV in the next few years ( currently studying and learning about different offerings). One concern I have is what VW might do to the ID.4 to make it more attractive for the US market. This usually does not yield a good result, quality wise.

 

[Nai3t]

...One concern I have is what VW might do to the ID.4 to make it more attractive for the US market. This usually does not yield a good result, quality wise.

If you mean size, it seems to me they're in the Model Y / RAV4 sweet spot.

If you mean devaluing via reduced tech, they're currently in the middle, a little more feature-rich than some ICE competitors, but trailing behind EVs occupying this and the next higher price bracket. I'd hope they'd stretch to bringing improved tech to us rather than competing downward on the value front. If course, they're always going to stop short of moving into Audi's options range (exception: Phaeton).

 

[Fahrer]

If you mean size, it seems to me they're in the Model Y / RAV4 sweet spot.

If you mean devaluing via reduced tech, they're currently in the middle, a little more feature-rich than some ICE competitors, but trailing behind EVs occupying this and the next higher price bracket. I'd hope they'd stretch to bringing improved tech to us rather than competing downward on the value front. If course, they're always going to stop short of moving into Audi's options range (exception: Phaeton).

VW has designed cheaper models for the US and has, in the past, moved to lower quality components for existing ( world ) models when selling them in the US. This can include, but not limited to, foam urethane steering wheels rather than leather, cheaper, lower quality seats, removing content such as entertainment components, power-points, speakers, etc. It seems that more buyers today are more impressed by (often) superfluous tech rather than fundamental quality. "Cool" interior mood lighting does not make for a better car. Better seats do.

 

[Nai3t]

I experienced that first hand switching from an 06 Jetta to at 15 Passat. But I think we see that currently in the ID.4 with the two seat options here and the unavailable Euro-only premium seats. I expect they'll always have variability within trims, and in general will ebb and flow over the model years.

 

[ID Fan]

Offered cool/funky colors for the ID4. There are some colors available in Europe that we can't get here and they are great.

Fun colors would make the ID4 cool!

 

[BlueDH]

I guess it's my age and experience but I just don't see the demand for battleship gray 😬.