Volkswagen plans to sell 25 BEV models in US by 2030 that qualify for full $7,500 tax credit
German automaker Volkswagen Group is looking to more than double its current share of the US market by prioritizing EV production in North America. By adhering to new terms laid out in the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, Volkswagen intends to deliver at least 25 all-electric models over the next seven years that will qualify for the entire $7,500 federal tax credit.
Volkswagen Group may not be leading the all-electric charge in terms of technology, especially software, but the legacy automaker is still making moves almost daily to pivot toward varietal BEV production in order to deliver vehicles that are affordable and enticing to consumers. Despite other European automakers (including Porsche) splitting hairs over the nonexistent demand for e-fuels, Volkswagen Group continues to embrace an all-electric future, with the goal of gaining a larger share of the global market.
A huge chunk of that market lies in North America, where the automaker currently has a production footprint that is home to its ID.4 EV. That factory will soon be joined by a new US-based battery plant to support local EV production and help Volkswagen’s future models qualify for federal tax credits now that the US Department of Treasury has shared its battery guidance criteria.
Additionally, Volkswagen Group recently announced South Carolina as the new home of its next production facility, where its Scout sub-brand EVs will be built. Fellow marque Audi could soon join the assembly lines at one of those US factories as well, providing further evidence of North America sitting dead center on the Group’s office dartboard.
Volkswagen Group currently has a grip over roughly 4% of the US market today, but it looks to boost that number to 10% by the end of the decade. In order to do so, Volkswagen America’s CEO shared the company’s plans for broader availability stateside, utilizing federal tax credit opportunities as its catalyst.
Volkswagen goes all in on US production, federal tax credit
Volkswagen may be putting the pieces in place to gather a larger share of the US market, but it remains a tall task – one that the legacy automaker has taken on in the past with little success. The Volkswagen passenger car brand currently holds a meager 1.8% of the US market today but hopes to reach 5% by 2030.
The overall Group hopes to achieve the aforementioned target of 10% in the same period with the help of some of its more popular, premium marques, like Audi and Porsche. Volkswagen has a head start on some of its competitors with established EV production in the US already but will need to expand its assembly lines to models beyond its namesake brand in order to have a chance.
Those plans already include a $7 billion investment in US production, which will help Volkswagen begin production of its ID.Buzz electric van in 2024. This year alone, Volkswagen has already introduced plans for several more affordable EV models to the public but has not declared which, if any, will be assembled in the US.
It appears that plenty more are coming stateside, however. According to Volkswagen Group of America CEO Paulo Di Si, the automaker plans to sell 25 BEV models in the US by 2030 – all of which should qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act’s full $7,500 federal tax credit. That means their assembly and battery components must operate in North America or through a US free trade partner. Per Di Si in a recent Bloomberg Television interview:
We have a great opportunity in the US. I believe this is the right time and the right place.
To avoid similar follies from past attempts at US market saturation, Volkswagen Group is hiring designers and engineers to cater its future EVs specifically toward US consumers. As a result of emissions scandals and software issues, Volkswagen’s popularity has dwindled in the US, although the ID.4 has gained a strong following, and its upcoming ID electric van continues to generate… buzz.
Even Di Si admits the automaker’s US market targets are going to be tough to hit, but the CEO remains confident in the Group’s US plans.
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes a merger between Electric Bike Company and Integral Electrics, California looking to clamp down further on Sur Ron hooligans, a Super73 recall, Cowboy’s production move, a tour inside Bafang’s factory in China, and more.
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NIU, best known as a leader in the electric moped market, has expanded considerably over the last few years. In addition to offering a hot-selling new electric dirt bike and showing off concepts for electric ATVs, the company is now unveiling an electric microcar known as the NIUMM 500.
Still in its prototype stage, the two-seater NIUMM 500 electric microcar is designed to fit into L6e category of light quadricycles in Europe. As a quadricycle, these vehicles are technically not “cars” in the traditional sense (or in the legal sense), and thus have their own set of regulations that help streamline their path to production. Other popular microcars, such as the Citroen Ami, have taken a similar path and reached success with over 30,000 units sold.
With a target price of €8,000 (approximately US $8,300), the NIUMM 500 is intended to fill that niche role of a comfortable, weather-protected urban commuter, going beyond a typical moped or motorcycle with the advantages of locking storage and the ultimate achievement of staying dry in the rain.
In order to qualify as an L6e vehicle though, there are certain restrictions such as speed and power that prevent the NIUMM 500 from laying down the fastest lap times. A top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) keeps the microcar city-oriented, though you could probably tell by looking that this isn’t a highway vehicle.
In some countries, light quadricycles don’t even require a full car driver’s license, instead allowing the operator to hold a more easily-obtainable moped permit.
Despite the speed limitation, the little electric microcar has a lot going for it. The traditional steering wheel control and two-pedal drive setup will feel familiar to seasoned car drivers, yet the vehicle offers a more moped-like parking experience by taking up a mere fraction of a parking spot. The narrow size helps squeeze through tight city streets, though you likely won’t be lane splitting quite like a moped.
Back on the car-like side of things, electric locks and power windows come standard (including a power rear windshield), as does electric heating. Optional add-ons include a sun roof and air conditioning. There’s a decently large storage area behind the two seats, and another small storage area in front of the passenger seat.
And in another nod to its hybrid design, halfway between a moped and a car, the NIUMM 500 can even be outfitted with removable batteries (straight from NIU’s NQiX electric mopeds). The removable battery version allows apartment dwellers or others without access to street-level parking to still own and charge their own microcar. Just like how I charge my own NIU batteries at home, owners can simply carry the batteries up the elevator and charge them in their apartment.
For those with charging access though, there’s a fixed battery version with a larger 7 kWh capacity. It gets an impressive 118 km (73 miles) of range, compared to the removable battery version’s 60 km (37 miles) of range.
Both appear to feature the same 5 kW motor with a peak output of 10 kW – also the same drivetrain from the NIU NQiX electric moped.
NIU is currently showing off the new vehicle at the Motorrad show in Dortmund, Germany.
There’s no word yet on if or when the NIUMM 500 will see production, but based on conversations with company insiders, it sounds like NIU is fairly serious about the microcar’s future.
Here’s to hoping it sees the road soon, and that they can keep that target price in check on the way there.
Electrek’s Take
Yes, I’m all in on this!
I LOVE electric microcars. Give me a tiny car, a golf cart, whatever you want to call it, and I’ll take it. For city commuters, 25 mph is often sufficient, and since many people don’t feel safe on a scooter, these types of vehicles fit the bill as lighter and more efficient alternatives to a car that still carry some benefits of a scooter or moped.
I tested out Wink Motors’ vehicles in NYC a couple of years ago and got around the city just fine with a top speed of 25 mph, so I think these could even work in the US. But of course Europe is the primary target here thanks to their more conducive quadricycle laws.
If anyone at NIU is reading this, I will travel to review!
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Renewables increased their output by almost 10% and provided nearly a quarter of US electrical generation in 2024, according to newly released US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
Solar was still No 1
Solar remained the US’s fastest-growing source of electricity in 2024. Utility-scale and “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar combined increased by 26.9% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report data.
Utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 32%, while small-scale solar increased by 15.3%. Together, solar was nearly 7% (6.91%) of total US electrical generation for the year.
In December alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar expanded by 42% compared to December 2023.
Small-scale solar (systems <1 MW) accounted for 27.9% of all solar generation and provided 1.9% of the US electricity supply in 2024. In fact, small-scale solar PV generates over five times more electricity than utility-scale geothermal.
2024 renewables milestones
The electrical output of US wind farms in 2024 grew by 7.7% year-over-year. Wind remains the largest source of electrical generation among renewable energy sources, accounting for 10.3% of the US total.
Wind and solar combined provided more than 17.2% of US electrical generation during 2024. The mix of all renewables – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal – provided 24.2% of total US electricity production in 2024 compared to 23.2% of electrical output a year earlier.
Between January and December, electrical generation by renewables grew by 9.6% compared to the same period the year before – nearly three times the growth rate of natural gas (3.3%) and over 10 times that of nuclear power (0.9%).
In December alone, electrical generation by renewables grew by 10.1% compared to December 2023.
Wind and solar together produced 15.9% more electricity than coal and came close to matching nuclear power’s share of total generation (17.2% vs. 17.8%).
The mix of renewables reinforced their position as the second largest source of electrical generation, behind only natural gas.
“Renewable energy sources now provide a quarter of the nation’s electricity,” said the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Consequently, the rash efforts of the Trump Administration to undermine wind, solar, and other renewables will have serious negative consequences for the nation’s electricity supply and the economy.”
Read more: Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
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