Latest news with #RalfBrandstätter
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘China's car market has lost all reason' – the country's largest western carmaker refuses to compete in Tesla and BYD's EV price war
Once China's dominant carmaker before being overtaken by fast-growing EV leader BYD, Volkswagen is now in a rebuilding year. VW Group China boss Ralf Brandstätter says he's willing to sacrifice market share during the price war to protect the equity of his company's car brands. Relief is due to come next year with a new range of affordably priced EVs built off the dedicated China-only 'CMP' platform. China's brutal EV price war waged between industry giant BYD, Tesla and now Xiaomi is increasingly squeezing the country's largest western carmaker out of the market. According to Volkswagen Group, there are 130 brands are competing for a share of the EV and plug-in hybrid sales. The result of such an oversaturated supply is that almost no one is able to earn a positive return. 'That means there's no money left over to invest in the future,' VW exec Ralf Brandstätter told German business daily Handelsblatt in an interview published Tuesday. 'China's car market has lost all reason.' Volkswagen is in the starting phase of a new EV product cycle it hopes will increase its total China sales by a third in the mid-term, allowing it to fully utilize its installed local capacity of 4 million cars annually. Leading that is Brandstätter, who is ultimately responsible for a portfolio of group brands including VW and Audi, as well as its China-only entry brand Jetta. The group may play a minor role in the United States, but it remains the world's second largest carmaker after Toyota. That's mainly thanks to its prescient bet on China, a market it dominated for nearly 40 years after becoming the first western car brand to successfully enter the market, in 1985. But ever since Beijing attempted to reel in an overheated real estate sector—in the process collapsing its property bubble—VW has steadily lost volume. In October 2022, several months after developer Evergrande defaulted on $300 billion worth of debt, Tesla first slashed vehicle prices in China. Its decision the next quarter to double down on this strategy with further rebates off the hood of Tesla cars helped cement the EV price war that still rages today. As a result, VW Group was eclipsed by fast-growing industry leader to BYD, which sold 4.21 million cars in China in 2024 to Volkswagen's 2.93 million last year. In 2019 just prior to the 'Three Red Lines' housing market reforms, VW's total China sales had hit a record of 4.23 million cars. While the prevailing prices for EVs in China are low, these aren't cheaply built econoboxes—China's market features the single greatest array of technologically advanced vehicles found anywhere on Earth. Even brands previously known for consumer electronics, such as smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, have launched their own high-tech EVs for a relative pittance. Despite the $30,000 price tag, its sporty SU7 sedan that debuted last year looked and performed so much like a European grand tourer that Xiaomi needed to defend itself from suspicions imitation took flattery to a whole other level. Given the brutal conditions in the market, VW has declared 2025 to be a year of transition. Only starting next year on does it expect to have attractive products that do not need to compete with the likes of BYD and Xiaomi on price alone. These begin with volume models built on the China-specific Compact Main Platform ('CMP'), potentially including a model sold under its Jetta brand for the equivalent of about €15,000 (about $17,500). The new cars continue in 2027 with more upscale models underpinned by the China Scalable Platform ('CSP'). Until then it won't chase after sales with ever increasing incentives just to move metal gathering dust on dealer lots. 'In such an unhealthy market environment, our share is not important,' Brandstätter claimed. 'Those only capable of selling their cars through rebates are damaging their brand.' Volkswagen serves as a litmus test of a legacy carmaker's desire to adapt and change with the times as demand shifts from gas-powered cars relying on mechanical innards like pistons and camshafts to EVs defined by their high-tech software features. Whereas 97% of GM's consolidated operating profit were earned in North America last year, VW continues to stake its claim to a leadership role across the entire global auto industry. This includes remaining relevant in the latest technological trends like autonomous ride hailing, where VW still harbors ambitions even after legacy rivals Ford and GM buried theirs. This story was originally featured on
Motor 1
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Volkswagen Says Car Buyers In Europe Want Buttons
As someone who owns a previous-generation Skoda Octavia , I find my car's dashboard to be borderline perfect in terms of layout and user interface. It strikes just the right balance between buttons and screens, a feature that virtually all Volkswagen Group products had until the late 2010s or so. After that, VW began shoving nearly everything into the touchscreen in the name of minimalism. They wouldn't call it cost-cutting, would they? But VW is aware that a large portion of its customer base prefers a more analog interface. Ralf Brandstätter, the company's head honcho in China, explained that customers in Europe tend to favor 'tactile controls, long-term durability, and driving dynamics.' It's a different story in China, where buyers prioritize 'AI-first, connected vehicles, with seamless voice control and smart cockpits.' 2024 VW Passat Variant Although Brandstätter was comparing EV shoppers in Europe and China, VW's combustion-engine cars have also largely abandoned physical buttons and knobs. The latest, wagon-only Passat is a clear example of how tablet-like displays have taken over dashboards in recent years. The similarly sized ID.7 Tourer electric wagon also keeps hard buttons down to a minimum. In VW's defense, it has promised a return to form . We've already seen tentative steps, with the Golf GTI and R reintroducing real buttons on the steering wheel. Additionally, future models will include tactile controls for frequently used functions. Earlier this year, the company's design chief admitted that going screen-heavy was a mistake. Here's what Andreas Mindt said: 'From the ID.2all onwards, we will have physical buttons for the five most important functions—the volume, the heating on each side of the car, the fans, and the hazard light—below the screen. They will be in every car that we make from now on. We will never, ever make this mistake again. On the steering wheel, we will have physical buttons. No guessing anymore. There's feedback, it's real, and people love this. Honestly, it's a car. It's not a phone. ' Since VW-badged cars are always twinned with other Group products to spread out costs, there's a good chance that future models from Skoda, SEAT, Cupra , and the rest of the gang will also revert to proper dashboards. Including more separate controls will undoubtedly drive up production costs, which, logically, will be passed on to buyers. It's a sacrifice some of us are willing to make. Circling back to Brandstätter's statement, he pointed out that the average age of an electric car buyer in Europe is 56, whereas in China it's under 35. His post on LinkedIn addresses the question of why cars developed by the VW Group in China aren't sold in Europe. It all comes down to differing regulations, costs, and customer preferences. Buttons > Screens Hyundai Gets It: Buttons Are Safer than Screens Hyundai Realizes People Find Touchscreens Annoying Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Source: Ralf Brandstätter / LinkedIn Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
German carmaker VW expects more competition in Chinese market
German carmaker Volkswagen expects competition to intensify with the increasing presence of large tech companies in the Chinese car market. "That doesn't make life any easier for us," Volkswagen board member for China Ralf Brandstätter said in Shanghai on Tuesday. However, VW believes that its state-of-the-art technology puts it in a good position to compete and capture its share of the market. "In my view, the playoff season is now beginning," said Brandstätter, referring to the knockout stages common in sport. Some market players could catch up, but not all would survive, he added. The Volkswagen Group, which also includes the Audi and Porsche brands, has announced a major product offensive for the Auto Shanghai motor show starting on Wednesday. On the eve of the exhibition, the group unveiled five new cars. VW is presenting three vehicles in Shanghai as "show cars," that is vehicles close to series production. These include an SUV with a range extender, meaning an electric car with a combustion engine that charges the battery, thus guaranteeing a longer range. VW also presented a fully electric car and a car in the highly competitive compact class, which is also intended to compete with Chinese rivals on price. According to Brandstätter, the vehicle would cost the equivalent of around €17,000 (about $19,600) in China. Prices in China are a problem, VW brand boss Stefan Mecha said. The competition's vehicles have all the technology, but not at a realistic price, he said. To give a realistic picture, the cars would actually have to cost twice as much, according to Mecha. Volkswagen is focusing on high-tech features in its vehicles and is presenting an automated driving system (ADAS) developed in-house in Shanghai. The driving system is designed to achieve a driving capability of up to level 2++. This means that the car does not drive completely autonomously, but the technology offers functions such as lane departure warning and speed control, which are intended to relieve the driver when driving on the motorway. Fierce competition in China and high restructuring costs within the company had a noticeable impact on the entire Volkswagen Group last year, earning €12.4 billion, almost 31 % less than a year earlier. China - which formerly drove profits at VW - contributed significantly less to the result. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
German carmaker VW expects more competition in Chinese market
German carmaker Volkswagen expects competition to intensify with the increasing presence of large tech companies in the Chinese car market. "That doesn't make life any easier for us," Volkswagen board member for China Ralf Brandstätter said in Shanghai on Tuesday. However, VW believes that its state-of-the-art technology puts it in a good position to compete and capture its share of the market. "In my view, the playoff season is now beginning," said Brandstätter, referring to the knockout stages common in sport. Some market players could catch up, but not all would survive, he added. The Volkswagen Group, which also includes the Audi and Porsche brands, has announced a major product offensive for the Auto Shanghai motor show starting on Wednesday. On the eve of the exhibition, the group unveiled five new cars. VW is presenting three vehicles in Shanghai as "show cars," that is vehicles close to series production. These include an SUV with a range extender, meaning an electric car with a combustion engine that charges the battery, thus guaranteeing a longer range. VW also presented a fully electric car and a car in the highly competitive compact class, which is also intended to compete with Chinese rivals on price. According to Brandstätter, the vehicle would cost the equivalent of around €17,000 (about $19,600) in China. Prices in China are a problem, VW brand boss Stefan Mecha said. The competition's vehicles have all the technology, but not at a realistic price, he said. To give a realistic picture, the cars would actually have to cost twice as much, according to Mecha. Volkswagen is focusing on high-tech features in its vehicles and is presenting an automated driving system (ADAS) developed in-house in Shanghai. The driving system is designed to achieve a driving capability of up to level 2++. This means that the car does not drive completely autonomously, but the technology offers functions such as lane departure warning and speed control, which are intended to relieve the driver when driving on the motorway. Fierce competition in China and high restructuring costs within the company had a noticeable impact on the entire Volkswagen Group last year, earning €12.4 billion, almost 31 % less than a year earlier. China - which formerly drove profits at VW - contributed significantly less to the result.
