Volkswagen Australia may finally have gotten its hands on electric vehicles (EVs), but the German brand’s local arm won’t be offering battery-powered alternatives to the Golf hatchback or Passat sedan anytime soon.
Speaking with CarExpert at the launch of the ID.4 Pro and ID.5 GTX all-electric SUVs, brand executives said the ID.3 hatchback as well as the ID.7 mid-size sedan and wagon are no closer to an Australian introduction, as Volkswagen hones in on the top-selling mid-size SUV segment.
“There are no updates [on ID.3 and ID.7] from our side today. The medium SUV market is the biggest market, and it’s the market that’s right for us to begin the ID. journey on,” said Arjun Nidigallu, national product manager for Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles.
“We have opportunities, like we do with everything else, to asses market viability and investigate those opportunities again in the future, but nothing at the moment we want to speak to.”
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ID.3 GTX
Previously, Volkswagen Australia indicated the ID.3 hatchback would launch in Australia with the mid-life facelift that first launched overseas nearly 12 months ago. However, ever changing market conditions have put it on ice.
No doubt part of Volkswagen’s strategic focus on its electric SUVs and vans is due to declining sales of passenger vehicles in Australia, even if some segments – like the small segment – showed growth in 2024.
Though while the small passenger segment as a whole saw 10.2 per cent growth last year, Volkswagen’s own Golf and its Cupra-badged compatriots the Born and Leon, all saw decline last year.
The Born especially serves as a good guide, given it is effectively a rebadged Volkswagen ID.3.
Volkswagen also recently pulled out of the medium passenger segment, with the Passat nameplate discontinued in 2023 after a near 30-year consecutive run Down Under.
ID.7 GTX Tourer
The Volkswagen ID.7 sits alongside the new-generation Passat overseas, and serves as a rival for the likes of the BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3. Like the Passat, it’s available in sedan and Tourer wagon body styles.
Following the launch of the ID. Buzz electric van range in December 2024 under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles banner, the passenger vehicles division is kicking off its EV journey with the ID.4 and ID.5 electric SUVs.
At launch the single-motor ID.4 Pro and dual-motor ID.5 GTX will lead the charge, priced from $59,990 and $72,990 before on-road costs, respectively.
The ID.4 in particular is priced in the thick of Chinese-sourced rivals like the Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7, despite hailing from the brand’s German Zwickau and Emden plants for Australia and subject to import tariffs.
Orders are now open for the brand’s new electric crossovers, with deliveries to commence in July. Further variants will arrive later in the year, namely the ID.4 GTX and the ID.5 Pro. Stay tuned to CarExpert for the latest.
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