Tag Archives: Volkswagen

News

Volkswagen Scores EU Tariff Break for China-Made Cupra Tavascan

In a move that could reshape the trade landscape for electric vehicles in Europe, the European Union has granted Volkswagen an exemption from steep import duties on one of its China-built models. The lucky beneficiary: the Cupra Tavascan, the brand’s compact electric SUV.

The European Commission confirmed that Volkswagen Anhui’s request for the Tavascan to be sold at—or above—a suggested minimum import price has been approved. The decision spares VW the hefty 20.7 percent countervailing tariff introduced in 2024 on top of the standard 10 percent import duty. That higher tariff was originally imposed to counter what Brussels calls “unfair Chinese government subsidies” for EV and battery production.

In exchange, Volkswagen has committed to a specific import quota and pledged significant investment in European battery and EV initiatives. The agreement marks the first application of the EU’s new minimum-price mechanism, a framework designed to ease tensions over Chinese imports while safeguarding European manufacturing interests.

The timing is crucial for Volkswagen, which has poured billions into its Anhui facility where the Tavascan is produced. Previously, the tariff hit Seat and Cupra hard: operating profit for the brands plummeted 96 percent in the first nine months of 2025, down to just €16 million ($18.9 million). By lifting the countervailing duty, the EU is effectively restoring some margin room for VW, while keeping the Tavascan competitive in European showrooms.

Last year, Tavascan sales totaled 36,000 units—roughly 11 percent of Cupra’s total deliveries—demonstrating modest but meaningful traction in a crowded EV market. With the exemption, the model is expected to arrive on European roads by the end of 2024 without the tariff drag that had threatened its economics.

The move also sets a potential precedent for other automakers, including Chinese EV giants like BYD, that are seeking a larger foothold in Europe. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce indicated that local EV manufacturers are evaluating similar proposals under the EU’s new framework, hoping for parity in treatment.

For Volkswagen, the deal represents a rare win amid rising geopolitical and trade pressures, signaling that Europe is willing to balance protectionist measures with market pragmatism. For European EV buyers, it could mean more competitive prices and a clearer path for imported models, especially as automakers continue to navigate a rapidly evolving global EV market.

Source: Volkswagen

NEW CARS

Refreshed VW ID.4 Aims to Become the Electric Tiguan

Volkswagen’s electric strategy in the U.S. hasn’t exactly been lighting up the sales charts lately, but the brand isn’t retreating. Instead, it’s doubling down on its most successful EV. The ID.4—one of just two VW models to post a sales increase in America in 2025—is getting a substantial mid-cycle refresh that goes well beyond a new bumper or fresh wheel designs. Internally, it’s already being framed as something more ambitious: an electric Tiguan for the EV age.

Spy shots of the updated ID.4 reveal a crossover that’s familiar at a glance but noticeably more assertive in the details. The front end adopts a squarer, more upright look that mirrors Volkswagen’s next-generation design language, closely aligning the ID.4 with the upcoming ID.Cross. It’s a subtle but deliberate shift away from the softer, almost egg-shaped aesthetic of the current model, and one that gives the electric VW more road presence.

The changes continue along the sides, where the doors are new and finally feature proper pull-style handles instead of the current flush units. Around back, the revisions are quieter but still meaningful. The tailgate panel now curves inward rather than outward, the D-pillar has been re-profiled, and the overall effect is cleaner and more conventional—again, very Tiguan-like in execution.

This isn’t a clean-sheet redesign, and it doesn’t pretend to be. The basic structure appears unchanged, which is exactly what you’d expect from a mid-cycle update. But Volkswagen’s designers have clearly spent their time massaging the surfacing and proportions, tightening up the ID.4’s stance so it feels more in step with VW’s latest combustion and electric crossovers alike. Think of it less as a reinvention and more as a maturity phase.

If the exterior tweaks are evolutionary, the interior overhaul sounds downright apologetic—and that’s good news. Volkswagen is bringing back physical buttons and switches in a big way, including a real, honest-to-goodness volume knob. A redesigned dashboard, upgraded materials, and a revised user interface promise to address some of the loudest criticisms of the current ID.4. We’ve already seen hints of this new interior philosophy in the recently revealed ID. Polo, and if that preview is accurate, the ID.4’s cabin should feel more intuitive and less like a software beta test.

The tech upgrades don’t stop there. The digital gauge cluster, long criticized for being undersized, is expected to grow, and the infotainment system will benefit from updated software and a more capable AI-powered voice assistant. Volkswagen seems to have finally accepted that touch sliders and buried menus aren’t a substitute for usability—especially in a family crossover.

Underneath, the refreshed ID.4 will ride on a revised MEB Plus platform. The headline change is the likely adoption of LFP battery chemistry, which should improve efficiency and potentially extend range, while also offering better long-term durability. Don’t expect lightning-fast charging, though: the architecture remains 400-volt, not the 800-volt setup that’s becoming the gold standard for next-generation EVs.

Powertrain updates are expected to be incremental, and that’s probably fine. Volkswagen already gave the base single-motor ID.4 a significant boost in 2024, raising output to 282 horsepower—an 80-hp jump over earlier versions. With that improvement still fresh, the facelifted model is more about refinement than raw performance.

Timing-wise, this updated ID.4 should arrive toward the end of 2026, carrying the model through to about 2028. At that point, Volkswagen plans to launch a fully new successor on a true 800-volt platform. Whether this refreshed model officially becomes the ID.Tiguan remains an open question. VW could decide the changes are extensive enough to justify the name for the 2027 model year—or save it for the all-new version later on.

Either way, the message is clear. Volkswagen isn’t giving up on the ID.4 or the U.S. EV market. Instead, it’s reshaping its electric crossover into something more familiar, more usable, and more Tiguan-like—qualities that may matter more than ever as the EV market grows up.

Photos: SH Proshots

News

Volkswagen Holds Market Lead in Europe While EV Demand Surges at Home

If the global auto market were a racetrack, 2025 would’ve been one of those seasons where finishing on the podium mattered more than setting lap records. Volkswagen, facing tariff headwinds, a cooling China market, and an uneven EV transition, didn’t exactly light up the timing sheets—but it stayed firmly in the race. The brand delivered roughly 4.73 million vehicles worldwide last year, essentially flat compared with 2024 and down a modest 1.4 percent in a market that refused to make things easy.

Look closer, though, and the picture sharpens. Europe and South America kept Volkswagen’s momentum alive, posting gains of 5.1 and a robust 18.5 percent respectively. China, once the company’s seemingly bottomless well of growth, pulled in the opposite direction with an 8.4 percent decline, while U.S. tariffs left a visible dent in North American deliveries, which fell 8.2 percent. In other words, Volkswagen’s global footprint worked exactly as intended—spreading risk—even if it couldn’t fully outrun geopolitical reality.

Electrification, meanwhile, continues to be more of a steady burn than a fireworks display. Volkswagen delivered approximately 382,000 all-electric vehicles globally in 2025, a figure that’s basically unchanged year over year (down just 0.2 percent). EVs accounted for 8.1 percent of the brand’s total deliveries, a reminder that the transition remains gradual even for one of the world’s most influential automakers.

Still, context matters. Volkswagen remains Europe’s top-selling brand across both conventional and electric powertrains, and it dominates its home turf in Germany with a 19.6 percent market share across all drive types—an increase of half a point year over year. That kind of stability doesn’t happen by accident.

According to Martin Sander, Volkswagen’s board member responsible for sales, marketing, and after-sales, the results validate the company’s broader strategy. The road ahead won’t suddenly smooth out in 2026, he says, but Volkswagen believes its refreshed product lineup and renewed emphasis on efficiency and competitiveness put it in a strong position. The most telling detail? China alone will see more than ten new Volkswagen EVs launched this year, signaling that Wolfsburg isn’t backing away from its biggest challenge—it’s doubling down.

Where the electric story truly brightens is Europe, particularly Germany. Volkswagen’s EV deliveries surged to 93,800 units in its home market, a massive 60.7 percent increase. Across Europe as a whole, all-electric deliveries jumped nearly 50 percent to about 247,900 vehicles. That’s not a niche uptick—that’s a real shift.

Much of that growth traces back to one car: the ID.7. Once a theoretical flagship, it’s now the best-selling model in Volkswagen’s ID lineup. German customers alone took delivery of roughly 35,000 ID.7s in 2025, more than doubling the previous year’s numbers. Across Europe, the tally reached 76,600 units, again up more than 130 percent. Available as both a traditional sedan and the more continent-friendly ID.7 Tourer wagon, the model has clearly struck a chord with buyers who want EV range and refinement without surrendering everyday usability.

Volkswagen isn’t content to let that momentum coast. The company expects EV demand to rise again in 2026 as new models roll out, including a production version of the ID. Cross compact SUV and the long-teased ID. Polo. With a targeted starting price of around €25,000, the electric Polo-sized hatch could become the brand’s most important EV yet—less about image, more about volume.

While the electric push grabs headlines, Volkswagen’s bread-and-butter still wears taller suspensions. SUVs accounted for just over half of the brand’s global deliveries in 2025, up 5.3 percent year over year. In the United States, that figure balloons to 78.5 percent, underscoring just how deeply American buyers remain committed to crossovers of all sizes.

In Europe, the T-Roc continues to anchor Volkswagen’s SUV lineup. The second-generation model, launched in 2025, racked up nearly 202,000 sales—up 3.9 percent compared with the previous year. Close behind in momentum is the Tayron, a newer addition that’s already logged 60,700 deliveries worldwide since its spring debut.

Taken as a whole, Volkswagen’s 2025 performance reads less like a victory lap and more like a disciplined endurance run. The brand didn’t escape the industry’s larger pressures, but it didn’t stumble either. With EV sales accelerating in its strongest markets, SUVs continuing to pay the bills, and a wave of new electric models imminent, Volkswagen looks less like a company bracing for impact and more like one methodically preparing for the next straightaway.

Source: Volkswagen