RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Volkswagen started its electromobility strategy in Latin America. The German automaker, which will invest US$84 billion globally in the next few years for the development of new technologies, announced the arrival in Brazil and Argentina of the two most modern 100% electric models in its global portfolio: the ID.3 (passenger car) and ID.4 (SUV).
These models are already marketed in China, Europe, and the United States. The first contributed 56,000 to the 212,000 electric cars the group sold globally last year, 158% more than in 2019. The second, launched this year, added 37,300 deliveries in the first half of the year.
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Pablo Di Si, Argentine president and CEO of VW in the region, said that “electric cars will be significant for the execution of our global Way to Zero strategy in Latin America.” He referred to the group’s plan, which aims to reach zero emissions by 2050. It includes the New Auto initiative, which aims for 100% of its sales in 2040 to be green cars.
In 2019 the brand launched its first plug-in hybrid in the region, the Golf GTE. And this year, it introduced the e-Up!, the electric version of its compact car manufactured in Brazil, in Uruguay, a country that the VW pilot defined as the one with the best infrastructure in the region for vehicles of this type.
Volkswagen was, in the last two decades, the best-selling brand in the Argentine market. In 2020, it obtained a 17.2% share (55,725 units), according to the Association of Automotive Dealers of the Argentine Republic (Acara). In eight months of 2021, it accumulated 43,449 (16.9% share). It was behind Toyota, which sold 51,601 vehicles (20.1% of the total).
Up to August, Acara revealed, electric and hybrid vehicle registrations grew 133% in the country, to 3,760 units. Last month, an all-time high was reached: 589 sales to the public, 22% more than in July.
On this track, the supremacy is Japanese. Toyota concentrates 86.6% of the market with six models, plus another 2% contributed by its premium brand, Lexus. The second largest is Ford, which recorded a 9.7% market share with two products. Eleven automakers share the remaining 1.7%. Among them, Audi, Volkswagen’s premium division.
In Argentina, there is a quota for importing environmentally-friendly vehicles. Hybrids are taxed at 5%, while 100% of electric cars pay only 2%, instead of the 35% tariff paid by those manufactured outside Mercosur.