Volkswagen ID.4 production in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Up to 141,000 all-electric vehicles across the Volkswagen Group were sold during the first quarter of 2023, an impressive 42 per cent rise over the same period in 2022.

Between the beginning of January and the end of March this year, the VW Group sold 141,000 battery-electric vehicles, an increase on the 99,200 BEVs (the official report does not give exact figures) sold during the same period last year. This figure accounts for 6.9 per cent of the Group’s total global sales during Q1, again a rise over the 5.2 per cent BEVs contributed during the same period in 2022.

2023 Volkswagen ID. 4

2023 Volkswagen ID. 4

Though VW does not give a specific reason for increased BEV sales, the gradual opening of supply bottlenecks and reduced microchip shortages are among the most likely reasons.

Unsurprisingly, sales in Europe bolstered the majority of this growth, accounting as it did for 98,300 of the total 141,000 BEV sales (up 68.1 per cent from the 58,500 completed deliveries in Q1 2022). China was the second largest with 21,500 – propped up primarily, one would assume, by the region-specific ID.6 mid-sized SUV – though, interestingly, that marks a 25.4 per cent drop compared with 28,800 during the same period last year. The US, meanwhile, is third on the charts, accounted for 15,700 sales, a 98 per cent increase over the 7,900 sales in 2022, aided no doubt by the production ramp-up at VW’s Chattanooga facility in Tennessee.

On that note – and perhaps unsurprisingly – Volkswagen passenger cars accounted for nearly half of the total 141,000 BEV sales with 70,000 completed deliveries. The ID.4/ID.5, produced at Chattanooga, proved the most prolific with 41,900 sales (again, an exact breakdown was not provided), with 9,758 sales in the US alone during Q1 a stark rise of 254 per cent – and a new record for VW’s electric SUV – over Q1 2022.

Volkswagen ID.5 GTX and ID.5 Pro Performance

Volkswagen ID.5 GTX and ID.5 Pro Performance

The now-facelifted ID.3 was the second most successful with 23,600 units sold. With the upcoming arrival of the ID.7 sedan, it’s unlike VW will be knocked off the Group’s top spot anytime soon.

Alongside VW, Skodas outsold SEATs 12,400 to 9,200, while the arrival of the ID. Buzz cargo van has seemingly done wonders for Volkswagen’s battery-electric commercial vehicle sales (remember the new Multivan is available as a hybrid), which rose an enormous 642.2 per cent from 700 in Q1 2022 to 5,500 in Q1 2023.

Read more: VW ID.7 with 700 km range coming in 2024

Audi was the most successful of the Group’s ‘Premium’ brands – not too surprising, given that neither a BEV Lamborghini nor Bentley is expected for a few years yet – with 34,600 sales. This marks a 42.7 per cent rise over the 24,200 units sold in Q1 2022, with the Q4 e-tron (21,300 sales) and Q8 e-tron SUV (9,700 sales) among the top five of the VW Group’s best-selling BEV models during this period.

Audi Q8 e-tron

Audi Q8 e-tron

Supply chain issues continue to thwart Porsche however, as the sports car staple – propped up primarily by the Taycan – sold 300 units less in Q1 2023 than the 9,500 it managed in Q1 2022.

The financial results mark a positive first step for the VW Group in 2023, which has already stated its “ambitious goal of BEVs accounting for around one in ten vehicles delivered globally to customers this year.”

Top Stories

Featured in this story

2021 Mustang Mach-E

Starting at $50,495

2021 Mustang Mach-E BUILD & PRICE

Distance Driven: 2,412 km

Times charged: 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse a arcu et tellus iaculis laoreet. Nam eu tortor vitae nunc tempus llamcorper ac vel ipsum. Nulla accumsan nunc sem.