Foreign media report: In 2023, Volkswagen placed significant bets on Xpeng Motors to revitalize its China operations. However, the first joint model, the ID. UNYX 08, underperformed severely—averaging only 267 units sold per month from April to August, far below the original target of 3,622 units monthly.
Priced at approximately $34,000, the vehicle struggled to gain traction due to inferior smart features compared to competitors such as Xiaomi’s YU7 and Zeekr 7X, which achieved sales of 57,000 and 21,000 units respectively during the same period. Additionally, Volkswagen’s newly established dealership network in Anhui Province remains insufficiently expansive, further constraining sales potential.
Although Volkswagen claims the partnership has shortened the development cycle for electric vehicle architectures, the contribution of the Chinese market to group profits has plummeted from nearly 50% to around 10%, prompting the company to initiate its largest restructuring since its founding 89 years ago. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume warned that the industry is experiencing an "unusual" contraction, necessitating urgent adjustments to production capacity. The next collaborative model, the UNYX 09, is set to launch this month—but internal aggressive sales forecasting mechanisms may risk repeating past missteps.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879577078788105/
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