Recently, Volkswagen plans to postpone the launch of the electric car ID.Golf by 15 months to 2029. The new car will be positioned as a pure electric hatchback compact car and will be the successor of the eighth-generation Golf. The launch of the T-Sport SUV will be delayed by nearly three years to 2031 because the launch of the software architecture needs to be delayed.
Data show that Volkswagen has been troubled by software problems for a long time. The research and development pace of its CARIAD software department has always been lower than expected, and its losses have become increasingly serious. According to the Volkswagen Group's financial report, CARIAD will suffer a loss of approximately 10.539 billion yuan in 2021, the loss will expand to 16.362 billion yuan in 2022, and a further loss of 18.9 billion yuan in 2023. CARIAD has become the most money-losing subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
It is worth noting that the ID. Golf is not the first Volkswagen Group model to be delayed due to CARIAD business not meeting expectations. Previously, the Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche Macan EV, which were originally scheduled to be launched in 2023, were postponed for several months, so that these two cars were only unveiled this year.
Last month it was reported that Volkswagen invested US$5 billion in Rivian to develop next-generation electric vehicle platforms globally. The two parties expect to complete the shareholding change and formally establish the joint venture before December 1, 2024. This means that the “software pain” that has plagued the public for a long time may be effectively alleviated, and the development of ID.Golf can proceed as scheduled.
Open Bitauto App and search for "new energy extreme endurance list" to get the latest test data
Editor in charge: Gao Xu