autoevolution
 

Herbert Diess Tells LinkedIn Followers to Skip ICE VW Cars for the EVs It Makes

You can say that the EV strategy of a manufacturer is at full steam when the main executive in that company tells his LinkedIn followers they should not buy their ICE cars. Instead, they should buy the electric vehicles they make, which could save them up to 50% in costs per kilometer. That’s exactly what CEO Herbert Diess recommended on October 18.
Herbert Diess shares chart that shows EVs are a better deal than other VW cars 113 photos
Photo: Herbert Diess/Volkswagen
Skoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV 80xSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iVSkoda Enyaq Sportline iV2021 VW ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Volkswagen ID.42021 Audi Q4 e-tron2021 Audi Q4 e-tron2021 Audi Q4 e-tron2021 Audi Q4 e-tron2021 Audi Q4 e-tron2021 Audi Q4 e-tron
The Volkswagen Group CEO posted on LinkedIn a chart with a comparison made by Autozeitung. The chart put three ICE vehicles against their MEB equivalents. The Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI (diesel) had its numbers confronted with those from the VW ID.4 Pure. It also happened with the Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TDI and the Audi Q5 40 TDI, respectively, against the Skoda Enyaq iV 80 and the Audi Q4 50 e-tron.

The comparison was about multiple aspects of vehicle ownership, such as starting price, range, subsidies/bonuses (in Germany), power, energy consumption, taxes, insurance costs, and how much you pay for fuel/electricity after 10,000 or 20,000 kilometers (6,213 or 12,427 miles) in a year.

As Diess wrote in his post, the cost per kilometer in a Tiguan is 30% higher than in an ID.4, and that’s the slightest difference among the group’s brands. The Enyaq iV 80 would represent an economy of 50% compared to the Kodiaq, while the Q4 50 e-tron spares 40% of what the Q5 driver would spend.

Those are indeed great numbers to present. However, the Autozeitung comparison also shows that incentives still play a major role in making these numbers attractive. For EVs to really beat ICE vehicles, they have to offer more range and they have to cost less regardless of what governments think about them or not. In other words, they have to be competitive on their own.

That’s the only way for EVs to be prevalent in countries that do not offer incentives or that pretend to do so with ridiculous annual limits and low values – which is almost the same. More than anything, what Diess’ post on LinkedIn shows is that Volkswagen has already reached the point of no return in its bet on electric cars. So much so that the CEO does not mind promoting them at the expense of the other products his company has to offer.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories