The Volkswagen Group capped off 2020 with 231,600 deliveries of battery-electric vehicles, or more than triple the 73,600 it delivered in 2019.
It was a bright spot for the automaker whose total deliveries in 2020 declined 15.2% to 9,305,400 vehicles, due to the slowdown caused by Covid-19 restrictions.
In comparison, Tesla, the current leader in the EV race (and most valuable automaker based on market cap), delivered 499,550 vehicles in 2020, up roughly a third on its 2019 result.
The results suggest Tesla may not hold its leading position for long. It may even be overtaken by VW Group this year, which is only starting to provide some real competition in the EV space.
2021 Tesla Model Y
VW Group's 2020 total was made up of deliveries for five models: the Audi E-Tron (and E-Tron Sportback), Porsche Taycan, and Volkswagen ID.3, e-Golf and e-Up. While the e-Golf and e-Up will soon be phased out (production of the e-Golf has already ceased), VW Group plans to add numerous new EVs in the coming years. We're talking as many as 70 by 2028.
VW Group's top-selling EV in 2020 was the VW ID.3 with 56,500 deliveries, followed by the Audi E-Tron (47,300 deliveries) and VW e-Golf (41,300 deliveries). This year, VW Group will start sales of the VW ID.4, which will likely be a bigger hit than the ID.3 due to its SUV body style. The ID.4 will also be sold in the United States, unlike the ID.3.
There will also be an Audi version of the ID.4 this year, which will go by the name Q4 E-Tron, and Audi will also launch this year its own version of the Taycan, the E-Tron GT. Other VW Group brands also plan to launch various EVs this year.
Tesla of course isn't taking a backseat. It just introduced a more affordable version of its popular Model Y SUV, and it's gearing up for production of its Cybertruck pickup truck which is slated to roll off the line in late 2021 at a new plant under construction near Austin, Texas. Tesla is also constructing a plant close to Berlin, Germany, to serve the European market. It's also planning a model priced from about $25,000, though CEO Elon Musk said last fall that the car is still three years away at the earliest.
