Volkswagen US dealers question if the new ID.7 EV can compete amid delays
For those of you waiting to get your hands on Volkswagen’s new all-electric ID.7 sedan, you will have to wait (at least) a little longer. VW is delaying the ID.7 launch in the US as dealers express caution.
VW delays US-bound ID.7 as dealer concerns arise
Volkswagen opened orders for its new flagship ID.7 electric sedan last August in Europe, with prices starting around $62,000 (€56,995).
Although the new EV was scheduled to launch in the US and Canada in the next few months, VW pushed back the release indefinitely last week. VW has yet to set a date for its rollout, but its dealers in the US seem okay with it.
John Luciano, a VW Nation Dealer Advisory Council member and owner of Street Volkswagen in Texas, said the ID.7 was a key part of the discussion at its recent meeting.
“We brought up a little bit of caution behind it,” Luciano said, according to Automotive News. Meanwhile, Luciano explained that most VW dealers support the ID.7 delay.
“Are we sure this is a good idea?” He added, “We didn’t know an exact pricing, but [it’s] definitely a $50,000 to $60,000 car, without incentives. Is there any chance of it being competitive? And we felt like [it’s] not.”
Still pretty much a sedan and likely an expensive one
Although VW dealers expected the new EV to be similar to the ID Space Vizzion concept, shown in 2018, the ID.7 is “still pretty much a sedan,” according to Luciano.
At 195.3″ long, 73.3″ wide, and 60.5″ tall, the ID.7 is similar in size to Volkswagen’s discontinued Passat (194″ long x 73″ wide x 59″ tall). Meanwhile, the ID.7 Tourer, recently launched in Europe, is closer to the concept dealers were looking for.
The ID.7s design gives the electric sedan a bigger back seat with more head and shoulder room, but the hatchback opens it up further.
Other VW dealers have expressed similar concerns about the ID.7 in the US. “I just don’t think an expensive electric sedan is in the cards for most Americans right now,” said Anthony Scala, who co-owns three VW dealerships (City Auto Group) in Chicago.
Unlike the new ID Buzz EV minivan, managers are not seeing strong demand for the ID.7. Volkswagen’s ID Buzz is set to hit the US market by the end of the year.
Scala, like Luciano, liked the ID.7 but thought the price tag, starting at around $60,000, was too high. “North of $50,000 for a sedan that doesn’t have the star logo, the ring logo or the BMW logo,” he added, “It’s a non-starter.”
Another major hurdle for VW is that the ID.7 is built in Germany, meaning it does not qualify for the $7,500 EV tax credit.
Perhaps, more importantly, is the timing. If VW launched the ID.7 as planned, Luciano said big incentives would be needed to move inventory.
Despite wanting more models, “We need models that will actually get out into the market and work,” Luciano explained. “But that wasn’t going to work with no incentives.”
Electrek’s Take
Volkswagen delaying the ID.7 could work out in its favor. However, that’s only if the automaker can adjust prices or features to attract buyers.
Otherwise, VW could risk falling further behind with an outdated, more expensive model. With most automakers revealing plans to launch low-cost EVs in the US, the ID. 7’s expensive starting price could hinder sales.
Sedans are not selling in the US like other global auto markets, as SUVs and trucks continue gaining market share.
What do you guys think about Volkswagen delaying the US-bound ID.7? Are VW dealers right? Is it the right move? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Rondo Energy and energy producer EDP are installing a massive 100 MWh renewable-powered heat battery at HEINEKEN’s brewery in Lisbon, Portugal. The project will deliver round-the-clock renewable steam and reduce emissions without altering the facility’s beer brewing process.
Brewing HEINEKEN with zero-carbon steam
The Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) will be the biggest deployed in the beverage industry worldwide. It can store electricity as high-temperature heat using refractory bricks, then convert that heat into 24/7 steam, all without burning fossil fuels.
At HEINEKEN’s Central de Cervejas e Bebidas Brewery and Malting Plant, the heat battery system will supply 7 MW of steam, powered by renewable electricity from onsite solar and the grid. That steam is identical to steam created by gas-fired boilers, but without the carbon pollution.
EDP is providing the renewable electricity and will deliver the steam directly to HEINEKEN via a Heat-as-a-Service model. Rondo is supplying the battery, and HEINEKEN gets to ditch fossil fuels without retooling its brewing process.
Why this matters
This project is a big win for industrial decarbonization. High-temperature steam is one of the most complex parts of manufacturing to electrify, and the beer industry runs on it. HEINEKEN’s Lisbon site already uses solar panels for electricity and electric heat pumps for hot water, and this move helps it go even further.
It’s part of HEINEKEN’s “Brew a Better World” plan to hit net zero emissions by 2040 and decarbonize all of its global production sites by 2030.
Additionally, the deployment aligns with Portugal’s national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.
The bigger picture
With the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst backing this and other Rondo projects with €75 million in funding, this Lisbon installation is just the beginning. Rondo’s technology enables energy-hungry industries to switch from fossil fuels to renewable electricity without compromising 24/7 operations.
Rondo CEO Eric Trusiewicz sums it up: “We are thrilled to be installing our first Rondo Heat Battery in Iberia, and to support HEINEKEN to reach its goals. We look forward to helping industries across Iberia cut costs and carbon, and help Iberia capitalize on the opportunity.”
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Lucid Group (LCID) reported third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday, missing top and bottom-line estimates.
With 4,078 vehicles delivered in Q3, Lucid marked its seventh straight quarter with higher deliveries. Through the first nine months of 2025, Lucid delivered nearly 10,500 vehicles, more than the roughly 10,200 it handed over in 2024.
Although supply chain issues hampered production in the first half of the year, Lucid’s CEO Marc Winterhoff said the company made “significant progress ramping production of the Lucid Gravity through Q3,” including adding a second manufacturing shift at its Casa Grande, Arizona, plant.
Lucid produced 3,891 vehicles in Q3, missing estimates of around 5,600. With 9,966 EVs produced through the third quarter, Lucid will need to build over 8,000 more to meet its full-year production goal of 18,000 to 20,000.
According to estimates, Lucid is expected to report an adjusted quarterly loss of $2.27 per share on revenue of $352 million in Q3 2025.
Lucid Group Q3 2025 earnings breakdown
Lucid missed top and bottom-line estimates as it continues to address industry-wide supply chain issues that are hampering production of the Gravity SUV.
Although it missed estimates, Lucid reported Q3 revenue of $336.6 million, which is still up 68% from $200 million in the same period last year.
Lucid’s net loss narrowed to $978.4 million in the third quarter, or $3.31 per share, from $992.5 million, or $4.09 per share, in Q3 2024. On an adjusted basis, Lucid posted a loss of $2.65 per share.
In addition, Lucid said it agreed with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to increase the delayed draw term loan credit facility (DDTL) from $750 million to around $2 billion.
Given the increase, Lucid said total liquidity would have been around $5.5 billion at the end of Q3, up from the $4.2 billion it reported. Lucid ended the third quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and equivalents.
Lucid said liquidity is enough to fund it through the first half of 2027, up from the second half of 2026, as previously forecast. Lucid plans to launch production of its more affordable midsize platform in late 2026 with vehicles starting at around $50,000.
Lucid confirmed it was still on track to start production of the midsize platform later next year. However, given the supply chain issues, it now expects to hit the lower end of its production goal at around 18,000.
Winterhoff said the company “remains intensely focused on ramping up production and addressing the significant supply chain disruptions impacting the entire industry.”
Lucid is advancing other emerging tech, including autonomy and intelligent mobility. Through a new partnership with NVIDIA, Lucid aims to be among the first to offer Level 4 autonomous driving.
The third-quarter earnings miss comes after Rivian (RIVN) beat expectations this week, reporting higher revenue and improving gross margins.
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Robinhood beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter on Wednesday, extending a hot streak that has made it one of the biggest large-cap U.S. tech stocks this year.
Here is how Robinhood’s results compared to Wall Street estimates, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 61cents vs. 53 cents expected
- Revenue: $1.27 billion vs. $1.19 billion expected
Revenue doubled year-over-year, while net income climbed to $556 million, or 61 cents per share, up significantly from the same quarter last year, when the company posted net income of $150 million, or 17 cents per share.
Transaction-based revenue, which is a proxy for trading activity, came in at $730 million, below StreetAccount’s $739 million estimate.
“Q3 was another strong quarter of profitable growth, and we continued to diversify our business, adding two more business lines — Prediction Markets and Bitstamp — that are generating approximately $100 million or more in annualized revenues,” finance chief Jason Warnick said in the release.
Robinhood is closing the gap with Coinbase as it pushes beyond retail trading into full-scale wealth management. The company has been aggressively offering deposit matches to lure clients from Fidelity and Schwab, and assets under management have grown with its TradePMR acquisition.
Robinhood year-to-date stock chart.
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