Good time at a tough time

The March new car registrations boom took Volkswagen to a new high.

Golf 8 was a big contributor to VW’s unsurpassed count in March.

CALL it a fossil-fuelled frenzy: Volkswagen’s new-generation electric product not yet availing here definitely hasn’t kept this make from being a people’s favourite here.

No more so than last month.

The brand’s national distributor is celebrating March a being a landmark moment; its best-ever sales month for passenger products.

True, March was a huge month for new vehicle distributors in general. As reported yesterday, it delivered the highest registrations tally ever recorded for the third month of the year.

Also, the count of 528 units being registered for that period is hardly the biggest brand take for the month – Toyota basically sold twice as many Hilux utes alone in March.

Yet it’s a big deal for a European brand and pretty decent for VW, given it’s running on empty just now in respect to having the in-vogue feature of an electric-assisted drivetrain in any product. That’s coming, but in hybrid formats. None of the wholly battery ID product making headlines overseas wholly is here until 2023. That might irk outright EV fans but, clearly, there are plenty of car buyers happy to go with the mainly petrol-dedicated status quo.

A volume representing a 5.5 percent market share is, according to a spokesman, very likely the biggest sales month ever in the history of Volkswagen in New Zealand – that’s not just in the ‘modern’ period of management under the current rights holder, European Motor Distributors, but also when it was selling the eponymous Beetle under a different arrangement. 

The marque’s previous highest result was 473 units, from January of 2017, when the Tiguan R-Line was launched.

Tiguan was also a major contributor to last month’s count, with the car having released in a mid-life facelift format during that period. VW New Zealand also credits the all-new Golf 8 that arrived into dealerships at the same time as having also made an immediate important impact. 

Greg Leet, Volkswagen NZ general manager of passenger vehicles, says both these flagship models exceeded expectations, achieving more than 150 percent of their usual monthly sales averages.

“Throughout March, Golf 8 recorded 161 percent of its recent monthly sales volume average and the Tiguan Facelift achieved 145 percent of its recent monthly sales volume average as well.” 

Leet says even taking into account that Golf 8 “represents the greatest leap forward since the iconic model launched more than 45 years ago”, and Tiguan being Volkswagen’s most popular selling car worldwide, these are still exceptional results.

Can the good times keep rolling? Hmm, that’s a hard one. Reduced production counts, delays in shipping and the worldwide shortage of computer semiconductors seem to giving most car distributors a headache at the moment.

VW Group has fessed up to being affected by that, particularly with its groundbreaking ID cars that will ultimately divorce the brand from fossil fuel reliance. That news might perhaps seem ironic to NZ electric fans aggrieved that the IDs are still several years from local introduction.

Nonetheless Leet says his operation will “continue to do all we can to replicate these sales targets in coming months.”

He also points out that, while pure electrics are out, VW will be provision performance R models this year - Golf R, Tiguan R and Touareg R, the latter of which runs a plug-in electric drivetrain.

“The Touareg R will very much be the performance brand-shaper, and we’re excited to demonstrate this highly anticipated performance model when it arrives as a PHEV.”

Leet says VW remains committed to sustainability and its future electric vehicle roadmap is paving the ‘way to zero-emission’ mobility for everyone. Globally by 2025, at least 1.5 million electric Volkswagen cars are to be sold.

ID release timing now into 2023

NZ has been given a green tick from VW Group for accepting need to clean up transport CO2, but there’s no queue-jumping for its tasty-looking electrics.

ID cars are being exported … but the ship won’t be stopping in NZ until early 2023 at best.

BURNED by its diesel emissions scandal in 2015, Europe's largest carmaker is investing around $50 billion in electric vehicles, staking its future on new technology and a dramatic shift away from fossil fuels.

Its ambition is far from half-hearted. Analysts recently conjected the undisputed king of the electric car, Tesla, might well be matched sale for sale by Volkswagen Group as early as next year with the Germans 300,000 units ahead by 2025.

Most will be cars from the VW parent brand, from the already impressive yet still-growing ID family. Also in the mix are Skodas, Audis and SEAT/Cupra cars sharing the parent’s bespoke MEB platform.

What will be New Zealand’s contribution to this historic global assault?

Shockingly, for electric car fans, over the next two years, the official input is very likely to come to … zero.

greg leet, general manager of VW passenger in NZ.

That’s the sobering reality, outlined by Greg Leet, general manager of Volkswagen passenger here.

Asked when the ID brand will officially represent in this country, he has confirmed earlier optimism of anything coming within the next 18 months has been all but scuppered. Introduction in early 2023 at best seems far more probable. 

“I still feel we are one buying cycle away from the ability to buy a fully electric Volkswagen.”

It’s hardly good news for the growing EV fanbase eager now to put their cash behind Europe’s most promising alternates to the Tesla, Hyundai and, primarily in used import ranks, Nissan electric cars that have so far been the mainstay models on the national scene.

VW Group’s inability to serve is not a distributor decision. Leet openly admits he would have at least the ID4 crossover here now if that were at all possible. 

If VW was able, it would be selling the ID4 now. It believes the model would quickly gain much the same popularity as the current local best-seller, the Tiguan.

“There’s an absolute desire to have the ID cars.” If the five-seater ID4 was here now, he believes, it would “very quickly achieve the same volume as its closest ICE (internal combustion engine) cousin.”

That’s the Tiguan, which is forecast to take more than 1000 sales this year. “We have very good aspirations for the ID range.”

But it’s not going to happen. VW’s production is still ramping up; ultimately, ID cars will likely come out of numerous plants, not all in Germany. But, for now, the output is constrained, allocations are strictly decided by the factory – with Europe getting first dibs.

Germany respects that NZ has great Green credential in respect to our electricity generation and that is has developed a solid EV recharging infrastructure.

It is as heartened as Leet has been by the Government’s recent announcement of intent to encourage EV ownership, wean us out of combustion engine products and dissuade support for high CO2 emitting vehicles.

 Though a coat-tailing Climate Change Commission advisory on what NZ needs to do to bring CO2 counts into line with international forecast has caused the car industry some consternation, Leet says the preliminary comment from Government about need to clean up transport emissions is a positive recognition. It finally puts NZ in the same conversation, with the same requirements, that are being tackled in Europe.

“We are all committed to reducing the CO2 footprint. That there’s an absolute appetite from our Government to say ‘we want to be part of this as well’ is treated very seriously by the factory. It is one of the main topics that they listen to.”

Yet that’s not enough for Germany to alter its view that NZ is of lower priority for its new-era products than other countries.

What other elements might change its mind? An actual incentive programme to support purchase of NZ-new EVs would always be handy. Also, a better attitude from Australia. Like it or not, our markets are bundled. Our neighbour has much greater volumes. But – and this is a huge frustration – they just don’t have anything like the same interest in promoting EVs. 

Beyond that, ID isn’t a line that can just be introduced without preparation.

ID production is sill ramping up, bu VW has aspiration to go big. Very big.

“There’s a lot of resource and work required to enable the ID range to different countries. While we are a part of that conversation with the factory, the opportunity for us to have it is still a little while away.

“We are part of the roadmap for the ID cars,” he insists. But the factory are very committed to Europe in respect to electrification.”

 In the meantime, then, with the e-Golf now out of production and local supply exhausted, VW NZ is out of the electric car business. It’s best hope of plugging in again in the interim is with PHEV versions of existing core fossil-fuelled cars, notably the Touareg – the incoming R runs mains-replenished battery assist – the Tiguan and the Golf. 

“Our commitment is to get hybrids and PHEVs to support our Government mandate to reduce CO2. 

“While our ICE vehicles are very fuel efficient, we are working really hard to improve.”

Leet reminds he can only speak about the product his operation sells. But all VW Group brand franchises here are held by a common distributor, European Motor Distributors, so they’re close.

So do the local operations for Audi – which, of course, already has electric fare here, on other platforms – SEAT/Cupra and Skoda having any better luck with achieving their own MEB models, already either in production (Skoda Enyaq) or soon to be (Audi Q4 e-Tron, Cupra Born) ahead of VW NZ? Says Leet about that: “I think we will have them (the ID and sister MEB models) at very close timings.”

Of course, NZ is already home to grey import IDs. Barely-driven cars from the United Kingdom, plucked as dealer demonstrators. Some examples of the ID3 hatchback – which VW NZ does not plan to sell here - are here and it’s accepted ID4s will soon join them. How does Leet feel about that? There’s a degree of pragmatism.

Leet says VW NZ will do its best to be of assistance to buyers of grey import IDs, but the official support network hasn’t been developed and, in any event, the ID3 that has so far been showing up won’t be sold here anyway.

“We would dearly love to be the importer of those cars. But we just aren’t. I don’t blame a customer at all for … purchasing these cars. Our approach to it is that these are effectively new Volkswagens, so we want the opportunity to welcome those customers into the VW network as soon as we can.”

There’s been talk that the factory is so disgruntled by grey imports it has signalled they might lose manufacturer warranty protection. Is it that black and white? With ID, the maker has prescribed a particular view, Leet says. 

“The factory homologates cars for the market of destination. These are UK cars.”

That status might become important in event of, say, a recall. Conceivably, under any warranty that might still exist, a UK car would have to be tended to by an accredited UK dealer. Would any owner really want to ship their imported ID halfway back across the world for, say, a software update? Probably not. But what if VW signalled need to undertake a major revision, like a battery change, as Hyundai has now done with its big selling Kona and Ioniq?

Whoever imports has a duty to provide back up to best ability. What chance that will realistically happen? Not for Leet to say. He simply notes: “They are deemed the importer so you would assume they would also undertake some responsibility.”

As things stand, Leet says, those UK cars will be encumbered by sat nav and traffic sign recognition programmed for their place of original sale. ID models are designed to take software updates. Those will likely also be market specific.

Nonetheless, the VW NZ attitude is that it will do the best it can for all owners, regardless of how their cars are sourced. But with ID it is challenging; there’s not the readiness for it as there would be for, say, an ex-Japan Golf.

 “We do want to be in the position that we can look after, and repair, those cars as required. But that takes a bit of work – there is special tooling, there are specific software requirements for these cars” and they demand trained staff. “That takes a while to set up.” VW NZ has not gone down that path yet.  

“As far as the technology to set up for the software … we’re working on that, and are likely to achieve it.

“As far as being able to have panel parts, windscreens and other parts … we’re not quite there yet.”

Logically, too, even when ID has officially established, VW NZ will prioritise parts for the cars it sells new, rather than those it won’t. Something else for those ID3 buyers, in particular, to consider.