Volkswagen Admits It Has Fallen Behind Competitors

Since the messy Dieselgate, Volkswagen hasn’t been the dominant force we used to take for granted in Europe. The rise of electric cars and Chinese competition caught the folks from Wolfsburg off guard, and the ID lineup of EVs has generated a lukewarm response. VW concedes it needs to “catch up” and is outlining a plan to get back into shape in the following years. It’s called Triple A: Accelerate, Attack, and Achieve.

VW intends to roll out nine new cars by 2027, two of which will be purely electric–the ID.2 will arrive in 2026, and the recently teased ID.1 is scheduled to hit the market in 2027. Before the pair of affordable EVs goes on sale, the first order of business is to launch the second-generation T-Roc. VW referred to the compact crossover as its final new car with combustion engines. A lot is riding on this model, considering it was nearly as popular as the Golf last year in Europe.

During a meeting with employees at the Wolfsburg plant this week, CEO Thomas Schäfer assured them the German site still has a bright future. That’s despite the fact that production of the current Golf will shockingly move to Mexico in 2027. The fully electric Golf will be built in Wolfsburg on the VW Group’s upcoming Scalable Systems Platform (SSP). The ninth-generation model, co-developed with Rivian, will eschew combustion engines and become EV-only.

However, the return of the e-Golf will occur closer to the end of the decade. VW also confirms plans for an electric T-Roc, but the zero-emission crossover isn’t coming soon either. The new models are part of a model expansion conducted in a “targeted way.” We can all agree that competition will be even stronger when these new EVs hit the market. We’re not just talking about the influx of rivals from China but also European competitors.

Take, for example, Renault, which has been intensifying its electric car efforts, whereas VW is teasing an EV it won’t launch until 2027. The new Twingo will beat the ID.1 to the market by about a year when it goes on sale in 2026, targeting the same segment of €20,000 EVs. The reborn Renault 5 is already available, whereas the €25,000 ID.2 is still about a year away. The French automaker is also bringing back the Renault 4 as an affordable electric crossover.

Software issues have plagued the launch of several products in recent years. Nevertheless, the German automaker wants to put those bad days behind it by becoming the “technologically leading brand in the volume segment” by the decade’s end. VW is one of those companies that are too big to fail, and despite having some rough years, it can pick up the pace provided it can get its act together.