Volkswagen reveals ID.Next electric sedan in a bid to win back market share in China
Volkswagen stunned the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show by unveiling its new ID.Next electric sedan concept. The ID.Next was showcased next to the VW ID.7 Vizzion, the Chinese model of its new electric sedan produced by FAW Volkswagen.
Volkswagen held an “ID Night” featuring all vehicles in the brand’s (SAIC-Volkswagen) lineup for China, including the ID.3, ID.4 X, and ID.6 X.
The ID.Next was revealed wearing a special camouflage jacket. According to the automaker, the electric sedan will feature a living cockpit space designed to represent its commitment to protecting the environment and sustainability.
Although few details of the EV were shared, the ID.Next will be made by SAIC-Volkswagen, a joint venture between Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor and the Volkswagen Group.
On the outside, the vehicle clearly resembles Volkswagen’s newly released ID.7 electric sedan for global markets. Yet the model includes a full-length light bar, distinct, sharp lines on the body, and a slightly smaller appearance.
Interestingly, Volkswagen’s other joint venture in China, FAW-Volkswagen, has also released its version of the ID.7 called the ID.7 Vizzion.
How the ID.Next fits in VW’s electric vehicle strategy
Foreign automakers, such as Volkswagen, are required to form partnerships (or joint ventures) in China to produce and sell vehicles locally.
Volkswagen has two joint ventures in China, one with SAIC and the other with FAW. When Volkswagen launches a new model, it’s typical for both JVs to produce it. While SAIC makes the ID.4 X and ID.6 X (versions of the VW ID.4 and ID.6 in China), FAW produces the ID.4 Crozz and ID.6 Crozz.
With this in mind, the ID.Next will be SAIC-Volkswagen’s version of the ID.7, while FAW will sell the ID.7 Vizzion.
The ID.Next is set to compete in a rapidly expanding Chinese EV market against BYD, Tesla, Geely, NIO, XPeng, and a never-ending list of upcoming electric sedans in China.
Electrek’s Take
The unveiling arrives simultaneously with an announcement that Volkswagen Group would bring new models to market quicker in China, investing €1 billion (roughly $1.1 billion) to establish an innovation and development center for electric vehicles in the region.
Volkswagen has dominated the auto market in China since around the 1990s. However, Volkswagen has watched its market share dwindle as new domestic EV makers take center stage, with overall sales falling 3.6% in 2022.
For example, BYD surpassed Volkswagen in passenger car sales in the first three months of 2023 due to soaring demand for battery electric vehicles.
Volkswagen will need to act urgently after unveiling plans to introduce ten new EV models by 2026.
What do you guys think? Does Volkswagen have a chance of reclaiming its share? We’ll keep you updated on the situation as we hear more.
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The Vision V is more than just a luxury people mover. Mercedes calls it “the pinnacle of luxurious and elegant multipurpose vehicles (MPVs).” After kicking off its global grand tour this week, we are getting a closer look at the ultra-luxury electric van Mercedes plans to launch next year.
Mercedes has a new ultra-luxury van coming soon
Although Mercedes is already well-known for its luxury vans, it’s preparing for a new era, starting in 2026. In 2023, Mercedes unveiled a new platform, VAN.EA, which will underpin a new series of electric vans.
The new modular platform will spawn exclusive VIP and high-end limousines, luxury family all-arounders, and even camper vans.
Earlier this year, Mercedes unveiled the Vision V concept, a preview of its upcoming ultra-luxury van. The concept features a new futuristic look with short overhangs and a streamlined silhouette. Mercedes said the new design is a glimpse into the styling that will be used in all of its upcoming MPVs.
The interior includes a first-class “Private Lounge” interior with a massive retractable 65″ cinema screen. After entering the vehicle and closing the doors, the screen will automatically rise from beneath the floor.
A private lounge wouldn’t be complete without a stereo system and gaming, right? The Vision V is equipped with a Dolby Atmos surround sound system featuring 42 speakers, including some built into the seats.
If that’s not enough, the setup includes seven projectors to create a 360-degree immersive experience. In audio mode, the digital soundbar and ambient lighting adjust to the rhythm of the music.
The ultra-luxury van transforms into a gaming hub with the ability to virtually drive a car (while you are riding in one). It even includes interactive shopping experiences, a relaxing mode that fully reclines the seats, and the fan favorite, Karaoke.
Following its world premiere in Shanghai in April, the Mercedes Vision V officially commenced its global grand tour this week.
Mercedes announced the first stop was in Dubai on Wednesday, offering a “fascinating glimpse into the future of the Mercedes-Benz VLS.”
Although it is unlikely to look exactly like the concept, Mercedes is expected to reveal the production model in 2026. Prices and final specs will be revealed closer to launch, but don’t expect this one to be cheap.
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Chinese EV giant BYD wants to build a network of ultra-fast chargers in Europe that could make topping up an EV almost as quick as filling a gas tank.
Speaking to journalists in Brussels last week, BYD executive vice president Stella Li said the company plans to roll out a network of “flash chargers” across Europe. These ultra-fast EV chargers are already in use in China and can deliver up to 400 km (about 250 miles) of range in just five minutes.
BYD’s flash charging tech is built on a 1,000-volt architecture – high-powered enough to make EV charging feel much more like a quick gas station stop. Even older EVs would benefit, with Li saying drivers could see charge times drop by 20–30% compared to today’s tech.
“This will be a game changer that will boost consumer confidence in electric driving,” Li said.
The plan is to build out the new charging network within the next year. BYD will start by installing its chargers at its own dealerships, and the company is already talking to potential local partners to help expand coverage even faster.
This is all part of BYD’s bigger strategy to cement itself as a top player in the European EV market by 2030. It wants to lead in both all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. BYD is opening a production facility in Hungary by the end of the year, along with a new R&D center and European headquarters in Budapest.
BYD’s Li says its EV sales in Europe are growing by 10% monthly. If things keep trending up, the company plans to build even more European factories.
“We are going to build in Europe to sell in Europe. We are looking at the long term. We are here to stay,” Li said.
Right now, BYD Europe has 16 dealerships in Belgium, nearly 40 in Spain, and more than 50 in France. In Germany, it wants to grow from 27 to 120 locations.
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There’s a mini-boom happening in fintech.
After a multi-year IPO slowdown triggered by rising rates and valuation resets, some of the emerging players in online stock trading, banking, lending and crypto-related services are hitting the public market, or at least preparing for a debut.
The next test of Wall Street’s enthusiasm is expected to come on Thursday, when Chime is slated to start trading on the Nasdaq. The provider of online banking services offered a price range of $24 to $26 a share, which would equate to a market cap of about $9.1 billion in the middle of the range, though that number would be higher on a fully diluted basis. The IPO pricing is scheduled for later Wednesday.
That’s a big step down from where venture investors like Sequoia Capital valued the company in Chime’s last fundraising round in 2021, when private tech markets were raging. The reported valuation at the time was $25 billion, and Chime’s IPO prospectus says the share price was $69. It’s a dynamic that’s playing out across the industry, as tech executives and investors reckon with a new reality.
David Golden, a longtime fintech investor and partner at Revolution Ventures, said that in 2021, capital was so abundant that “equity was basically free,” making it possible to sell stock “for any price under any circumstances.”
“You saw a valuation reset in the market,” said Golden, who previously led JPMorgan Chase’s tech investment banking practice. Now the window appears to be open, and “they basically said, ‘Look, we don’t really need the money, but we think it’s time,'” Golden said.
A Chime spokesperson declined to comment.
There are reasons for optimism.
Lat month, trading app eToro debuted on the market and jumped 29% on its first day, though the stock hasn’t done much since. That same week Mike Novogratz’s crypto firm Galaxy Digital finally made its U.S. debut, uplisting from the TSX.
Then came crypto company Circle, whose blockbuster listing helped solidify what now looks like a true reopening of the fintech IPO market. Circle is trading at over $118 for a market cap of $26 billion, after pricing its offering at $31.
Others are on the horizon. Klarna, a provider of buy now, pay later loans, filed its prospectus in March but then delayed its offering a month later after President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs roiled markets. The company hasn’t provided an update on its timing, but in May reported nearly $100 million in quarterly losses.
Gemini, the crypto firm founded by the Winklevoss twins, said last week that it confidentially filed for an IPO. Bullish, a crypto exchange backed by Peter Thiel, has also filed confidentially for an IPO, according to a report on Tuesday from the Financial Times.
Going public for companies like Chime requires a recognition that the market has fundamentally changed from where it was a few years ago. For Sequoia, SoftBank and Tiger Global, who all wrote checks in Chime’s 2021 financing round, that means taking a haircut on that investment and hoping Wall Street helps them recover.
Stripe, the most highly valued U.S. fintech, has almost gotten back up to its peak. After raising at a $95 billion valuation in 2021, the company slashed that number by almost half to $50 billion in 2023. Early this year, it climbed back to $91.5 in a tender offer for employees and shareholders. But Stripe has shown no urgency to hit the public market, as it’s able to regularly hold secondary offerings.
‘Acquisition currency’
For Chime, revenue in the latest quarter climbed 32% from a year earlier to $518.7 million. Net income narrowed to $12.9 million from $15.9 million a year ago.
“They believe there’s enough support in the public markets to raise meaningful capital and gain an acquisition currency to go out and acquire other companies,” Golden said.
Even with the lowered valuation, Chime’s IPO will still create big paydays for earlier backers like DST Global and Crosslink Capital, the biggest outside investors in the company.
Silicon Valley investors are desperate for returns after an extended drought. While exits for venture firms in the first quarter hit their highest quarterly value since the fourth quarter of 2021, nearly 40% came from a single IPO, according to the National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook. That IPO was CoreWeave, a provider of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Ryan Gilbert, general partner at Launchpad Capital, said “sponsors and advisors are very realistic” about the market conditions and “realize the window is open.”
“But I don’t think they know how high the window is up from the floor,” Gilbert said. “And I think would much rather get the IPO done and start trading than risk aggressive pricing.“
He said that Chime is a business that spent a lot of money on luring customers, which is a big challenge for smaller companies that lack universal brand recognition. According to its prospectus, Chime paid the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks roughly $33 million over three years to have its logo worn as a patch on player jerseys.
Chime now has to prove it can take advantage of all that marketing spend and retain customers as it competes with incumbents like Square, PayPal and SoFi.
While Chime isn’t a bank, most of its services sit at the core of consumer banking. It primarily generates revenue through interchange-based fees on debit and credit card transactions.
“It’s pretty simplistic,” said Dan Dolev, an analyst at Mizuho. “I’m actually surprised by how unsophisticated that business model is.”
How well the market receives that model and Chime’s story could have a big influence on the rest of the fintech space.
“I think they’re going to look at Chime as a potential canary in the coal mine,” Golden said. “If it goes well — and you’ll know that in the next two to three months — I think you’ll see much more receptivity” from other companies in the pipeline, he said.
“If it doesn’t go well,” Golden added, “I think they’ll continue just to sit on their hands and wait it out.”
WATCH: Lot of appetite for IPOs
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