Volkswagen BEV deliveries increased in '21 despite global chip shortage

Volkswagen saw a significant increase in BEV deliveries in 2021 with more than 369,000 electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) delivered worldwide last year. To date, Volkswagen says that one in four vehicles delivered by Volkswagen in Germany is either a BEV or PHEV, with deman  for VW’s electrified offerings steadily rising.

“Volkswagen is continuing to press ahead with the transition to e-mobility despite the limited supply of semiconductors. In a very short time, we have reached a top position for all-electric vehicles in Europe. With our Accelerate strategy and the expansion of the model portfolio, we will continue to increase the pace of the e-mobility offensive. Before the end of this year, the ID. Buzz will represent yet another emotional model in our ID. family,” said Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter.

According to Volkswagen, the proportion of purely battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid vehicles nearly doubled to 7.5 percent of the company's total deliveries. 

Volkswagen, however, saw a decline of around eight percent in its overall vehicle sales with a total of 4.897 million units sold across all drive systems worldwide compared to the previous year’s 5.328-million record. VW points to the lagging supply of semiconductors that caused limitations in production throughout the course of the year as the main reason for the decline in its overall sales.

The company saw a slight dip in certain markets including Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, South America, and China. On the other hand, growth was seen in markets including North America, the Middle East and Africa, and the rest of Asia Pacific.

Volkswagen Board Member for Sales and Marketing Klaus Zellmer commented, “Volkswagen achieved satisfactory sales under extremely challenging conditions. The massive effects on production brought on by the semiconductor situation could not be entirely compensated for over the course of the year, however. Nonetheless, our record-breaking order backlog of 543,000 vehicles in Europe alone — thereof 95,000 IDs — shows clearly that the demand for Volkswagen vehicles continues to be very high.”

Volkswagen expects that the first half of this year at least will remain highly volatile and challenging, owing to persistent supply bottlenecks for semiconductors. However, the company expects to be able to stabilize production as the year goes on and lower its high backlog of orders as quickly as possible.

Photos from Volkswagen

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