Volkswagen Australia to sell more EVs than Tesla by 2027

Volkswagen Australia’s first electric vehicle is still more than 12 months away from going on sale Down Under, but the German brand has already announced ambitious plans to eclipse Tesla and sell 20,000 EVs here annually by 2027.

Speaking to carsales at this week’s media preview of the new 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 – which will become the brand’s first electric vehicle on sale in Australia from late 2023 – Volkswagen Australia’s director of passenger vehicles, Michal Szaniecki, said half of the brand’s sales will be EVs within five years.

“It’s very simple. In five years, we want to have around 20,000 cars already [sold in Australia per annum] with electric engines,” said Szaniecki.

Volkswagen says it will become the world’s largest EV maker by 2025, but it has some catching up to do if it’s to reach the success of Tesla – especially in Australia.

Indeed supply might be the biggest barrier to Volkswagen hitting its lofty sales target and potentially overtaking Tesla as Australia’s top EV brand.

Volkswagen sold about 40,000 vehicles annually over the past few years, but to August this year its sales are 37 per cent down to supply issues.

Meantime Tesla sales topped 12,000 last year and have already eclipsed 8000 in 2022 – putting the US EV pioneer well inside the list of top 10 brands – after the new Model Y recently joined the Model 3.

However, the Volkswagen Tiguan-sized ID.4 electric SUV will quickly be joined in local showrooms from 2024 by a second EV, the ID.5 coupe-SUV, followed by the ID.3 electric hatch.

Szaniecki wouldn’t be drawn on how long it will take for Volkswagen to overtake Tesla on the sales charts, instead saying the German brand’s value-focused ‘full package’ approach to becoming a mainstream EV brand would win over buyers.

“Well, observing Netherlands, Norway, and US markets it’s going to be a very interesting journey to get to the numbers and to finally beat Tesla,” he said.

“Our value proposition – so the product quality, the parameters of these cars and eventually the price for package – is suggesting that we can get and beat Tesla in Australia.”

“[It] depends of course on many, many factors, but we are optimistic about our performance in the segment.”

Szaniecki’s optimism for the brand’s electric future is evidenced by his ambitious sales forecasts in 2024 – the ID.4’s first full year of sales – when he expects Volkswagen electric cars to be among the most popular existing and upcoming EVs.

“We have to deliver the costs and establish them [at] the end of 2023, hopefully, and then Q2, Q3, to Q4 in 2024 we should be able to deliver the volume enough to be in the top 10 in [the] EV segment,” he said.

In the meantime, Szaniecki said Volkswagen and Tesla would engage in healthy rivalry.

“Let’s keep it a friendly competition with our friends at Tesla,” he said.

“What’s really important is that we are all moving into the same direction for Australia, which also accelerates all initiatives from local and federal authorities and government to help us out in this transition. 

“Tesla is doing a great job. We will do the same here.”

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