We’re barely five months into 2022, but Volkswagen CEO Dr. Herbert Diess has revealed the company has “basically sold out” of electric vehicles for the year.
Speaking to the Financial Times, the German carmaker’s boss said that U.S. and European customers who order electric vehicles today won’t get them until 2023.
That’s a disappointing development for would-be buyers, but Diess told the publication “We have very high order books and order intake on electric vehicles.” He added, “That accounts for all of our models from ID.3, ID.4, the Audi models — [all] are extremely well received in the markets, Škoda models are also very well received in Europe.”
Also Read: VW Will Go EV-Only In America, New Electric Crossover Coming In 2026
This is both a blessing and a curse as Volkswagen’s electric vehicles are popular with consumers, but the company is reportedly facing a backlog of 300,000 orders in Europe. Those orders can’t be fulfilled overnight, especially with the ongoing chip crisis, so new customers will have to wait their turn.
Volkswagen is also facing a backlog of orders in the United States for the ID.4, which is currently imported from Europe. However, that will change soon as a Volkswagen of America spokesperson told Carscoops that, “We will be producing the cars in Chattanooga starting this summer, and those locally produced cars will be MY23s.”
While Volkswagen is struggling to keep up with demand, the company isn’t slowing down as they unveiled the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo in March. They’ll be followed by an electric sedan and wagon, which were previewed by the ID. Vizzion concepts.
