Australian new-car buyers sitting on the fence when it comes to EVs, says VW

Australian new-car buyers are in a ‘fence-sitting phase’ when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), according to Volkswagen Australia, though the company says its modest EV lineup is meeting sales expectations. 

The brand’s local head of product, Arjun Nidigallu, explained its recent hybrid push, which includes plug-in hybrid versions of the Tiguan and Tayron confirmed for launch in 2026, has been prompted by slower take-up of EVs.

“We’ve had the adoption phase … we’re now going into what I’d like to describe as the fence-sitting phase,” Mr Nidigallu said. 

Sales of EVs in Australia in the first half of this year increased 9.3 per cent over the same period in 2024, stronger growth than the 4.7 per cent for the full calendar year of 2024 – but predictably well short of the 160 per cent figure from 2023. 

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“Why are people sitting on the fence? One, they don’t want to go to a car that doesn’t feel like a car. Two, they’ve got range anxiety about charging and things,” he said.

“We are solving those problems with ID.4 with our partnership with Ampol public charging – so for us, in this fence-sitting phase we couldn’t ask for a better product.”

While the Volkswagen brand globally has been proactive in introducing EVs – with its ID.3, which is not sold here, launched in 2019 – they’ve been slower to arrive Down Under. 

Volkswagen Australia added its first EVs to its local lineup – the ID. Buzz people mover and ID. Buzz Cargo van – in 2024, adding the ID.4 and ID.5 SUVs earlier this year.

The ID.4 has sold the strongest, but still didn’t make the top ten list of best-selling EVs in August 2025, topped by its key rival, the recently updated Tesla Model Y.

“We’ve only had two months of sales, it’s a bit early [to judge success], but the feedback so far has been greatly positive and it [the ID.4] is a mainstay for us,” Mr Nidigallu said. 

Despite its recent arrival here, the ID.4 has been on sale overseas since 2020 and is reportedly set for a significant makeover with a new design direction from Wolfsburg.

The look was previewed recently by the Volkswagen ID. Cross concept shown at the Munich motor show. 

The ID.4’s update will also include physical buttons in the cabin given complaints for customers about the current car’s touchscreen-operated functions.

“We’ve gone past the early adopter phase in the mainstream – we were prepared for that, and we knew we were launching [ID.4 and ID.5] this year and knew the fragmentation’s there, but luckily we have the product that ticks so many boxes,” Mr Nidigallu said.

Piergiorgio Minto, Volkswagen Australia passenger vehicle director, said EVs are not taking a back seat to hybrids, despite the latter’s sales growth.

“EVs are an opportunity in the market and they’re going to grow. The offer on EVs is going to be bigger and bigger in the future – there is no question it is going to grow,” Mr Minto told CarExpert.

“So, we’re going to see a completely different market in 2030 – so it’s an opportunity and therefore, we give a lot of importance to the ID.4 and ID.5 because they are some of our first vehicles we’ve got as pure BEVs [battery electric vehicles] as the path into the future for us.”

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