Volkswagen South Africa is one step closer to introducing its Electric Vehicles (EVs) on local soil and will run a fleet of ID.4’s in 2022 as part of its electric mobility strategy.
In 2020, Volkswagen SA announced its local 3-phase electric mobility strategy.
The first phase of the strategy saw the introduction of a fleet of 6 e-Golfs that were used for local EV research, media and dealer exposure in an effort to gain insights into EV ownership in South Africa. The firm also ‘tested’ a fleet of ID.3s.
Cars.co.za tested the e-Golf in Johannesburg, watch the video below.
“It is important for us to conduct thorough research on electric vehicles before introducing them in South Africa. With the e-Golf test fleet, we exposed hundreds of Volkswagen customers to electric vehicles and over 90% of those customers indicated that they would consider buying an electric vehicle in the future,” said Steffen Knapp, Head of the Volkswagen Passenger Car Brand.
Now, Volkswagen has announced that it will embark on the second phase of its strategy which will see a fleet of ID.4 compact SUVs taking to the streets in 2022. The ID.4 is the 2021 World Car of the Year currently the firm’s most best-selling electric car with a range of 522 km.
The third and final phase of Volkswagen’s electric mobility strategy will finally see Volkswagen EV products go on sale to customers in South Africa. The ID.4 is expected to be the first EV model from Volkswagen to be offered to local buyers.
A host of new EV products from brands such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz will reach South Africa next year while BMW is expected to introduce its iX locally this month. However, if widespread EV adoption in South Africa is even remotely possible, more affordable EV products are needed to stimulate and build demand. Volkswagen’s EV products can’t come soon enough…
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