Volkswagen reports that during the fourth quarter of 2022, its vehicle sales in the United States decreased by over 18 percent year-over-year to nearly 69,000. In 2022, the company sold 301,069 cars, which is almost 20 percent less than in 2021.
Despite those negative results, the German brand managed to improve its electric car business in the US. Vehicle supply was limited due to imports from war-affected Europe, but in August, Volkswagen started local production of the Volkswagen ID.4 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
That changed a lot and now the perspectives are pretty good, especially since there should be no problem with the eligibility for the full $7,500 federal tax credit.
So how many Volkswagen ID.4 were sold in Q4? Well, 9,439 according to our calculations*, which is a new quarterly record and impressive growth of 111 percent year-over-year.
* There's a difference between the 2022 total result and the previously reported Q1-Q3 sales result because of errors in the company's report (we are waiting for confirmation).
It also means that all-electric cars accounted for 13.7 percent of the total Volkswagen volume during the fourth quarter. This is really not a bad result for a mainstream brand.
We are not surprised by the strong BEV sales, as the company previously said that it intends to achieve a production rate of 7,000 ID.4 per month at the Chattanooga plant before the end of 2022.
Let's combine this with the long queue of customers waiting for cars to be available. Volkswagen had more than 40,000 reservations at the end of 2021.
Volkswagen ID.4 sales in the US in Q4 2022
In 2022, 20,511 Volkswagen ID.4 were sold in the US, which is 22.5 percent more than in 2021 (16,742) and 6.8 percent of the brand's total volume. Cumulatively, more than 37,000 ID.4 were delivered to customers.
The US-made 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Standard (RWD, 62 kWh) starts at an MSRP of $37,495 (+$1,295 DST) and is better equipped than the previous versions.
We guess that in 2023, Volkswagen has a chance to sell at least 30,000 units - maybe even 40,000 if we include imports from Europe. That would be a good starting point to add more models (Volkswagen ID. Buzz and Volkswagen ID.7) to expand the electric lineup.
In Europe, the Volkswagen ID.4 also is expected to sell better and better, as it's now produced at two plants: in Zwicaku (Germany), and also in Emden (Germany). With two more plants in China: in Anting and Foshan (online since 2020), the model is produced at five plants on three continents.
