{"id":27349,"date":"2021-05-14T15:31:55","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T19:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=27349"},"modified":"2021-05-14T15:31:55","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T19:31:55","slug":"vws-new-tiguan-shows-the-steep-climb-ahead-for-evs-like-the-id-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/vws-new-tiguan-shows-the-steep-climb-ahead-for-evs-like-the-id-4","title":{"rendered":"VW’s new Tiguan shows the steep climb ahead for EVs like the ID.4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Farmington Hills \u2014<\/em>\u00a0General Motors and Volkswagen say their future is electric. The two manufacturing behemoths have set ambitious goals to produce only battery-powered vehicles by 2035.<\/p>\n

But the latest model of VW\u2019s best-selling vehicle introduced here \u2014 the 2022, gas-powered Tiguan compact SUV \u2014 shows how steep the road is ahead.<\/p>\n

The new Tiguan, with an estimated base price of $26,000,\u00a0will go on sale this fall\u00a0alongside VW\u2019s first global EV, the similarly-sized $41,000 ID.4. Even with the temporary\u00a0federal\u00a0$7,500 tax break for buying an electric vehicle, that\u2019s a yawning $7,500 price difference in America’s\u00a0most competitive SUV segment. With 398\u00a0miles of EPA-estimated range, the Tiguan dwarfs ID.4\u2019s 250 miles of battery range.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do know it\u2019s going to take awhile for most U.S. customers to say, OK, cool,\u201d they will buy an electric vehicle, VW North American product marketing chief Hein Schafer said in an interview at the Tiguan\u2019s media reveal.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrice point is a challenge. (The) cellphone industry was no different. As\u00a0they started\u00a0up, battery efficiency was not where it should be, it was very expensive. Batteries got more efficient, they got more affordable. And so you got more range and the price point of cellphones came down. I think EVs are going to be no different.\u201d<\/p>\n

VW\u2019s challenge to\u00a0convince customers to go electric is compounded by governments that, for the first time, are forcing automakers to produce a specific powertrain. Both Washington state and Great Britain, for example, say they will\u00a0forbid gas-engine car sales\u00a0by the end of this decade.<\/p>\n

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It will be the second time in two decades that VW has had to reinvent\u00a0itself. Just over 10 years ago, VW was a sedan brand, with the majority of its sales in Jetta, Golf\u00a0and Passat cars. But as the American consumer flocked to SUVs, VW had to switch gears to adapt.<\/p>\n

The Tiguan was introduced in 2008 and struggled to gain traction against popular badges like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. It wasn’t until the Tiguan\u2019s second generation, 2017 long-wheelbase model that VW posted sales above 100,000 units in a segment where its Japanese competitors move over 400,000 vehicles annually.<\/p>\n

“The Generation One Tiguan was very much Euro-centric \u2014 didn\u2019t have second-row comfort, didn\u2019t have the trunk. But we were working feverishly to find a Tiguan that met all the U.S. customers’ needs and wants,\u201d said Schafer. \u201cWhen we launched Tiguan in 2017, we saw immediate success. We more than doubled our volumes, Clear lesson: if you listen to U.S. customers, you . . . can have success in the U.S. market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ID.4 enters a U.S. market where customers have shown little interest in EVs not named Tesla.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0Tesla’s\u00a0big three\u00a0EVs\u00a0\u2014 Model 3 (89,976 units sold), Model Y (79,072)\u00a0and Model X (22,255) \u2014 the\u00a0best-selling electric chariot in 2020 was the Chevy Bolt at 20,754 units. In its fourth year of sales, the $36,000\u00a0Bolt hatchback \u2014 hyped\u00a0as a Model 3 killer\u00a0in 2017 \u2014 sold about 1\/5th as many vehicles as\u00a0the comparably-sized, gas-powered Chevy Trax crossover. The $33,000 Nissan Leaf EV \u2014 now in its tenth year on the market \u2014 sold just 9,564 units.<\/p>\n

“Consumer consideration to buy an EV for the last 10 years has been stuck at about 3-4%,” said Ed Kim, vice president\u00a0for Industry Analysis at Auto Pacific, while noting that actual EV sales are under 2% of the market. “With new vehicles in the market like the Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, our recent\u00a0data shows that doubling to about 6%.”<\/p>\n

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While the German-built ID.4 shows off a new, minimalist interior design, the Mexican-made Tiguan is hardly standing still as it gains new technologies like a digital instrument display, digital climate controls\u00a0and wireless Apple CarPlay\/Android Auto\u00a0to match its own bold styling update.<\/p>\n

Load an all-wheel-drive\u00a0ID.4 with all the features and it tops out at $49,675 before tax incentives \u2014 a price more in line with Tesla\u2019s luxury Model Y. A similarly-equipped Tiguan\u00a0will run about $37,000 (pricing will be announced closer to fall release).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a fair amount of apprehension (with EVs) when it comes to charging, range. Is it going to inconvenience me?\u201d said Schafer. \u201cSo I think the (ID.4 and Tiguan) complement each other. We have the Tiguan that is extremely spacious, has all the creature comforts. Then ID.4 teases this prospect that EVs are not what you think they are. (It\u2019s) fun to drive . . . and also doesn\u2019t have servicing costs that a gasoline engine vehicle has.\u201d<\/p>\n

Auto Pacific’s Kim points out that \u2014 unlike the cellphone revolution that freed Americans from wall-tethered\u00a0phones \u2014 EVs actually limit\u00a0mobility by tethering consumers\u00a0to a charge cord.<\/p>\n

“With the\u00a0internal combustion engine, you have the freedom to drive anywhere,” said Kim. “EVs don’t have as much infrastructure and they take longer to charge. We’re still at a point in time when it doesn’t make sense for everybody.”<\/p>\n

The ID.4\/Tiguan\u00a0siblings\u00a0are in the middle of a\u00a0full lineup of utes (including the bigger Atlas and Atlas Cross\u00a0Sport)\u00a0that will soon be joined by the 2022 Taos,\u00a0VW\u2019s first\u00a0subcompact SUV.<\/p>\n

Tellingly, Taos is not an EV. The costs of batteries are simply too steep.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The Taos) is going to come out with a very peppy, 1.5-liter turbo engine, which is going to have phenomenal fuel economy because we know customers buying in that segment are extremely cost-conscious,\u201d said Schafer.<\/p>\n

Key to VW\u2019s EV plans\u00a0\u2014 as well as other manufacturers \u2014 is government\u00a0partnerships for massive subsidies.<\/p>\n

In addition to the $7,500 federal tax credit, VW touts state incentives for EV buyers like California\u2019s $1,500 rebate and access to carpool lanes. VW also anticipates federal manufacturing subsidies for the ID.4 when it begins production at the company’s Tennessee plant in 2022.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf USA is serious about reducing CO2 emissions, I feel like it makes sense to extend (the $7,500 tax credit) until you get to a point where these cars are affordable,\u201d said Schafer, citing the Biden Administration\u2019s push to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. \u201cThat\u2019s a critical point \u2014 because if you look at the average transaction price of a car in the U.S., almost 70% of volume is below 40 grand. So if you really want to transform the market . . . \u00a0you\u2019ve got to stimulate that for a period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other manufacturers face similar challenges\u00a0as they bring EVs to market. Ford’s first\u00a0electric SUV\u00a0\u2014 the $44,000 Mustang Mach-E \u2014 enters the same compact SUV segment as\u00a0Tiguan. Ford\u2019s segment mainstay, the gas-powered Escape (2020 sales: 178,496 units) now sports a hybrid-electric version\u00a0that stickers for under\u00a0$30,000.<\/p>\n

This year, Ford introduced a new gas-powered, $28,000 Bronco Sport to the segment that hit dealers about the same time as\u00a0Mach-E. The electric Mustang\u00a0came out of the blocks quickly with 3,739 sales in February, then trailed off to 1,951 sales\u00a0in April. Bronco Sport, meanwhile, posted 5,525\u00a0February sales and accelerated to 13,856 units\u00a0in April.<\/p>\n

For now, VW touts the daily usability of the ID.4 \u2014 which can charge overnight at home for routine metro commutes. The build-out of national electric infrastructure is a longer-term play \u2014 also dependent on government\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made it clear that, post-2035, we’re not going to be developing any more gasoline-powered engines,\u201d said Schafer. \u201cHow fast can we pull that off? We need to earn money, too. We\u00a0make money with gasoline-powered cars, so it\u2019s very clear we need to time that transition with the market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Farmington Hills \u2014\u00a0General Motors and Volkswagen say their future is electric. The two manufacturing behemoths have set ambitious goals to produce only battery-powered vehicles by 2035. But the latest model of VW\u2019s best-selling vehicle introduced here \u2014 the 2022, gas-powered Tiguan compact SUV \u2014 shows how steep the road is ahead. The new Tiguan, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27350,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27349\/revisions\/27350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}