Perhaps in the car industry, it’s good to know a little in advance. If one were considering a newer car now, one could happily wait a couple of years.
Just starting a two-year manipulation project for the missus. 
That price range is already quite within my grasp. It would be about time to buy a brand new vehicle for the first time in my life.
ID.Every1 is still a concept car, though certainly close to the final version of the new “people’s car”.
The press release already contains some specs, and as expected, the price range is mainly squeezed by compromising on the battery. The text does not mention the battery size, but “at least 250 kilometers” refers to the 40-50 kWh class.
Since the range estimate is not mentioned at the beginning of the release, but has to be searched for, it is clear that it is not considered a selling point for the car. A Hausfrau (housewife) will manage with this, and the already limited top speed indicates that the ID.1 is not meant to hog the left lane of the motorway.
The concept vehicle reaches a top speed of 130 km/h and is powered by a newly developed electric drive motor with 70 kW (95 PS). The range is at least 250 kilometres.
That ID1 is indeed a good-looking car. A perfect city car, and at a price of approx. 20,000 euros, practically affordable for anyone. And the slider buttons have been replaced with real buttons, even proper physical buttons. An interesting detail is the option for a detachable speaker.
It’s interesting that both the so-called hardware design and the software side (in its entirety) of the car’s electronics come directly from Rivian. If the project succeeds, it will be interesting to follow what Cariad’s role will be in the future within the VW Group. The company had a major management shake-up some time ago. The last news was from autumn about a collaboration with TomTom to create the next generation of navigators.
Rivian somehow did a much better job at creating hype at the launch event for its new models at the end of last year.
I even consider it likely that VW will also bring Rivian’s cars to Europe and the rest of the world. Volkswagen’s ownership of Rivian will increase within the next year or two. They seem to trust the cooperation and technology significantly more than their own.
Rivian’s, and not just Rivian’s, problem when entering Europe is the weight of EV cars, which places them in the EU classification as light commercial vehicles. This means an 80km/h speed limiter, a C driving license (if one wants to tow more than just feathers, an E license is also required).
An initiative is underway in the EU that would raise the maximum weight for passenger cars (EVs) so high that American Full-Size SUVs and trucks would fit into the AB license category, but it’s only in its early stages and also requires the approval of all EU countries, meaning it could be a very long project. Ford was supposed to start selling the Ford F-150 Lightning model in Norway a long time ago, but even though Norway is not an EU member, it follows the EU vehicle classification, and Ford’s import plans died there. I’m not so sure about the UK; it probably follows the EU classification. For the US automotive industry, it would be a small silver lining in the electric car industry’s troubles, and inventories could be dumped into Europe. Stellantis, which owns Chrysler (RAM, Dodge, Jeep), received bad news again, as S&P downgraded its credit rating from BBB+ to BBB. Precisely because of problems in the US market.
Right, interesting to know. That currently applies to R1 models, but I understood that the R2 will be slightly smaller and the R3 even smaller.
R2s (starting at $45,000) are expected to be seen on roads in H1 2026, and R3s (estimated starting at $37,000, but VW cooperation might lower the price) in 2027.
The German market is just one, albeit a large entity, but still interesting to follow.
The segment leaders for February’s figures have been published, and Volkswagen swept the gold medal positions. The ID.7 distorts the year-on-year comparison percentages for the upper mid-range segment and appears to be the only electric car among the segment leaders.
Volkswagen announced that models manufactured by Volkswagen in Mexico (Tiguan, Taos, and Jetta) will not be subject to the threatened 25% US tariffs because the models made in Mexico comply with the USMCA rules of origin. Models made in Chattanooga, USA (ID.Buzz, ID.4, Atlas, and Atlas Cross Sport) will also not be subject to tariffs.
However, a battery factory under construction in Canada, whose production was intended for export to the USA, is a problem. Construction of the factory began last year and is on schedule, meaning the first phase has been completed. The Canadian government has already paid VW a 500 million euro “welcome” sum for the factory and has started infrastructure earthworks (roads, railways, power lines, water supply, etc.).
Among the group’s other brands, Audi manufactures the Q5 in Mexico, but Audi has not announced whether the Q5 will avoid tariffs. The Q5 is Audi’s best-selling model in the USA and accounts for 30% of the brand’s sales. Other Audi models would be subject to the 25% treatment.
All Porsches are made in Germany, so all Porsches will receive the 25% treatment.
BMW has announced that their models manufactured in Mexico and the USA do not meet USMCA conditions, meaning all BMWs would fall under the 25% scope. BMW makes the 300-series, 2-series coupe, and M2 in Mexico. In South Carolina, USA, they make the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM SUV models.
Mercedes-Benz has not yet announced anything.
A few highlights related to the results:
(06:38 GMT) Volkswagen Expects 2025 Revenue to Rise Despite Challenging Year (up to 5%)
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen 4Q Oper Pft EUR6.15B
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen: Analysts Saw 4Q Operating Profit at EUR5.27B
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen 4Q Rev EUR87.38B
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen: Analysts Saw 4Q Revenue at EUR85.4B
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen Expects 2025 to be Demanding Year in Chinese Market With Price Discounts Increasing Further
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen Proposes Ordinary Dividend of EUR6.30
(06:30 GMT) *Volkswagen Says 2025 is a Year For Stepping Up The Pace After Year of Crucial Decisions
At the top-line level, the Q4 result thus looks good. Similarly, they are guiding for rising revenue this year, but are warning about fierce competition in China. On the other hand, the aim is to improve profitability - FY 24 Operating margin was 5.9% and the guidance for this year is 5.5% - 6.5% - so it’s pretty much about the margin, at least for now. This means that elsewhere, the aim is for better margins than before, while in China they are weakening. Of course, margin is not the same as selling price, so perhaps manufacturing costs can be lowered.
The group proposed a dividend of 6.36 euros per preference share for 2024, down from 9.06 euros paid out for the previous year, reflecting ongoing savings efforts following major job and capacity cuts announced in December.
Otherwise, the results warm me up and I’m even slightly interested in the company, but… I’m not at all sure that increasing partnership with China is the right strategy. Lest Germany just drives into a wall.
Order growth was a big positive signal in Volkswagen’s report: +85% in electric cars in Western Europe and +15% overall order growth. Then, one thing I noticed was that the Battery business is being expanded to energy storage as well; this would be an opportunity for Wärtsilä to sell its energy business to Volkswagen, and quite certainly at the right price.
A lot of investments and product development have been made. Now, the future of the Volkswagen Group looks quite good and positive to me. A surprisingly large amount of money is being spent on product development, which is a good thing, especially during this major transition when we should be moving to electric propulsion.
Many new models are coming in 2025, 2026. The gap is starting to close, and I believe in Volkswagen’s success in the long run. A German car certainly has a place under the butt of a European motorist.
Doubling the position today if I can get it at a reasonable price 
Volkswagen Group with solid FY 2024 results and a robust outlook | Volkswagen Group
Annual Report & Full Year Results 2024 | Volkswagen Group
Edit. Links added
And if the results are not yet enough…
Volkswagen has said it is willing to consider building equipment for the German military as part of Europe’s efforts to rearm.
Oliver Blume, the chief executive of Europe’s biggest car manufacturer, said the company had not yet been approached by potential partners but was willing to “look at the concepts”.
His comments come as a shift towards German rearmament – prompted by fears that Donald Trump’s United States is pulling support away from the Continent – have led manufacturers including Rheinmetall and KNDS Group to retool car parts factories to make weapons.
According to economists, automotive factories are able to spare the capacity given that Germany’s car exports have halved since their pre-Covid pandemic peak.
Volkswagen announced today that it would reduce its subsidiary Cariad’s workforce by 30%. In numbers, this amounts to 1,600 people. Volkswagen is transferring software design and actual programming work to the American company Rivian and the Chinese company Horizon Robotics.
In Germany, the population overall will decrease by one third by 2030:
Northvolt’s battery pack business seems to be going to Volkswagen 
This kind of chart came across on LinkedIn, posted by Dan Mottram: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmottram/)
Volkswagen announced something truly exceptional. A year was cut from the schedule of VW’s upcoming small car, the ID.1. So, the model will go on sale in 2026 instead of 2027, which was the original plan. According to VW, the design and implementation of the car’s electrical systems have progressed significantly faster than anticipated. So, Wolfsburg is sending its thanks to Rivian. So far, so good.
Are there any concrete rumors that Volkswagen’s surplus factories would transfer to Rheinmetall, either for ownership or lease? How well are the production facilities suited for the new purpose? Now that Europe is being re-equipped, what kind of prospects might the Volkswagen Group have regarding equipment deliveries? On the heavy vehicle side, there are MAN and Scania, and naturally, vans and similar vehicles are also available.
I understand that Rheinmetall is buying VW’s Osnabrück factory, because it is reportedly well-suited for what is intended to be manufactured there. Rheinmetall and VW have a long and good relationship.
As an owner of PAH3, I’m wondering how much the stock price might drop today because of Trump’s tariffs. Any guesses?