Volkswagen Passenger Cars reports that its global car sales improved during the fourth quarter by over 11 percent year-over-year to 1.23 million, although the total result in 2022 decreased by 6.8 percent year-over-year to 4.56 million. It was another negative year for the German brand, which in 2019 was able to sell almost 6.3 million cars.
In this background, the Volkswagen brand continues its transformation to e-mobility, but relatively slowly due to various challenges in 2022.
During the fourth quarter, Volkswagen sold around the world 118,000 all-electric cars. That's a 23.8 percent increase year-over-year and the first ever six-digit quarterly result.
Not only that, the company achieved a record 9.6% share of battery electric cars (BEVs) out of its total volume.
Volkswagen global BEV sales - Q4 2022
In 2022, 325,100 Volkswagen BEVs were sold globally (a new record), which represents an increase of 23.6 percent compared to 2021 (263,059) and 7.1 percent of the total volume.
Interestingly, 44 percent of all Volkswagen electric cars (143,100) were sold in China, where customers can choose between three models (ID.3, ID.4 and ID.6). China is also the market where Volkswagen BEVs noted a very strong growth of 102.9 percent year-over-year.
We guess that in 2023, more than one in ten new cars from Volkswagen (globally) will be fully electric.
In terms of models, the top-selling Volkswagen electric car in 2022 was the ID.4 with around 170,000 units - that's more than half of all BEVs.
That's not unexpected if we consider that the ID.4 is produced in five factories around the world: two in Germany (Zwicaku and Emden), two in China (FAW-Volkswagen in Foshan, and SAIC Volkswagen in Anting) and one in the US (Chattanooga, Tennessee).
Top Volkswagen BEV models in 2022:
- Volkswagen ID.4 - around 170,000
- Volkswagen ID.3 - 76,600
- Volkswagen ID.6 - 37,400
- Volkswagen ID.5 - roughly *23,000
* the ID.4/ID.5 total was 193,200 - other - 17,900
- total - 325,100
Cumulatively, Volkswagen Passenger Cars sold more than 580,000 MEB-based electric cars from the ID. family, since the Volkswagen ID.3 entered the market in September 2020.
