Volkswagen CEO discusses electric Golf, Tiguan, and affordable ID 2all EV models
As it transitions to fully electric, zero-emission vehicles, Volkswagen looks to maintain its position in the auto industry. Part of this plan includes transforming iconic brand names like the Golf and Tiguan to electric while adding new EVs to the lineup, such as VW’s new affordable ID 2all concept.
The Volkswagen Group delivered over 570,000 electric vehicles in 2022, retaining its status as BEV market leader in Europe and expanding its position in China, the biggest EV market globally, by 68%.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for a record 7% share of total deliveries last year, with the VW ID.4 and ID.5 models selling over 193,000 models.
The German automaker says it remains well-positioned for future growth with several new EV releases on deck, a vertically aligned supply chain, strategic market approaches, and updated software and tech.
In March, the Volkswagen Group released plans to invest €180 billion (around $193 billion) over the next five years to maintain its position in the industry as it evolves to zero-emission electric vehicles.
Of the investment, 68% will be allocated toward electrification and the digitalization of its lineup, including electric Golf and Tiguan models.
VW plans to add electric Golf and Tiguan models to lineup
CEO of VW Passenger Cars, Thomas Shafer, spoke to Automobilwoche, saying the latest gas-powered Golf model will be the company’s last as the automaker looks toward an electric future.
Shafer says under newly appointed chief designer Andreas Mindt’s lead, VW is returning to its roots, saying, “put in a nutshell: stability, sympathy, and enthusiasm.”
The first visible proof of this is the recently released ID 2all concept starting under $27,000 (€25,000) with up to 279 miles range (450km) and several new features from the brand. Shafer says the ID 2all model is a critical piece showing where the company wants to go overall, as he explained:
Close to the customer, top technology, great design and extremely high quality standards. And at a crisp price of less than 25,000 euros. This is how we make e-mobility suitable for the masses.
The automaker has previously mentioned it will not let its iconic brand names like the Golf die out in the electric era.
Volkswagen has also stated plans to convert its best-selling Tiguan SUV to electric, tipped to be called the ID. Tiguan. Shafer told Automobilwoche:
It is clear that we will not give up iconic names like the Golf, Tiguan and GTI, but rather transfer them to the electric world.
However, he added, especially with the Golf EV, “It has to fit the genes.” Volkswagen doesn’t want to simply label any vehicle with the brands. It has to represent the name. For example, Shafer says:
That’s why we’re only bringing the electric Golf when it really has Golf genes in it – such as a flatter roof compared to the ID.3.
Shafer said VW won’t build the electric Golf until the company’s new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) platform is built, which is due out in 2026.
As for the electric Tiguan, Shafer says it doesn’t have to wait until the SSP is ready, adding:
With a tall model like the Tiguan, that’s possible. We can do that very well with the MEB+ platform. We are much more flexible there. We’ll have to see whether it makes sense to do this now or later.
When asked about a 20,000 euro EV, Volkswagen’s leader said as of right now, such an electric car cannot yet be priced at current battery and raw materials costs. Meanwhile, he says VW is working to find a solution.
Volkswagen recently referred to using its economies of scale alongside vertical supply chain integration to bring down costs in the future.
“One thing is clear,” according to Shafer, “from 2023, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand will only be selling battery-electric vehicles in Europe.”
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Over the weekend, Tesla began offering many Cybertruck trade-in estimated values above the original purchase price, apparently due to a glitch in its system.
Tesla offers online trade-in estimates for individuals considering purchasing a vehicle from them.
Over the last few days, Cybertruck owners who submitted their vehicles through the system were surprised to see Tesla offering extremely high valuations on the vehicle, often above what they originally paid for the electric truck.
Here are a few examples:
- $79,200 for a 2025 Cybertruck AWD with 18,000 miles. Since this is a 2025 model year, it was eligible for the tax credit and Tesla is offering the same price as new without incentive.
- Here Tesla offered $118,800 for a 2024 Cybertruck ‘Cyberbeast’ tri-motor with 21,000 miles.
- In this example, Tesla offers $11,000 more than the owner originally paid for a 2024 Cybertruck.
The trade-in estimates made no sense. Tesla has been known to offer more attractive estimates online and then come lower with the official final offer, but this is on a whole different level.
Some speculated that Tesla’s trade-in estimate system was malfunctioning, while others thought Tesla was indirectly recalling early Cybertrucks.
It appears to be the former.
Some Tesla Cybertruck owners who tried to go through a new order with their Cybertruck as a trade-in were told by Tesla advisors that the system was “glitching” and they would not be honoring those prices.
Tesla told buyers that it would be refunding its usually “non-refundable” order fee.
Electrek’s Take
That’s a weird glitch. I assume that it was trying to change how the trade-in value would be estimated and the new math didn’t work for the Cybertruck for whatever reason.
It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
The Cybertruck’s value is already quite weird due to the fact that Tesla still has new vehicles made in 2024, which are not eligible for the tax credit incentive, while the new ones made in 2025 are eligible.
There’s also the Foundation Series, which bundles many features for a $20,000 higher price.
All these things affect the value and can make it hard to compare with new Cybertrucks offered with 0% interest.
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![At $28,000 off, is the Jeep Wagoneer S the best EV deal going? [update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/jeep_wagoneer_deals.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but when dealers started discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000 back in June, I wrote that it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.
This month, the discounts are even better.
UPDATE 23AUG25: I found you some even better EV deals!
Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.
That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.
With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.
That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states:
- Jeff Belzer’s in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $39,758 ($28,032 off)
- Troncalli CDJR in Georgia has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,590 MSRP for $42,697 ($24,893 off)
- Whitewater CDJR in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $43,846 ($23,944 off)
- Antioch CDJR in Illinois has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $44,540 ($23,250 off)
“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”
All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!
Jeep Wagoneer S gallery
Original content from Electrek; images via Stellantis.
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Multinational equipment brand SANY just launched a clever new 50-ton reach stacker that pairs gravity and an F1-style KERS system to generate electricity, improve operating efficiency, and reduce costs. The best part: they’re putting that smart tech to work by helping clean up (and shore up) the grid.
Short for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS was a staple of Formula 1 in the late aught and 2010s. Essentially an advanced form of regenerative braking, KERS captured the kinetic energy of a car at speed that would normally be lost as heat when the brake pads pressed against the brake discs. Instead of heat, KERS converted that energy into electricity (storing it in a battery or flywheel), to be deployed later.
Sebastian Vettel explains KERS
In practice, KERS gave drivers an extra boost of horsepower at the push of a button, enabling them to attack or defend their position on track and adding a fresh strategic element to the sport. In SANY’s case, that stored power is fed back into the reach stacker’s electric hydraulic system, reducing pressure loss across the high-pressure setup by 50%, and lowering the machine’s overall energy consumption by more than 60%.
Energy recovery is a key feature. The potential energy of the boom, lifting gear and energy storage cabinets during the boom’s descent can be recovered efficiently with an overall recovery efficiency of over 65%. That means every 1 kWh of consumption in lifting can be recovered by 0.4 kWh during descent.
The 50t reach stacker is available with a 512 kWh swappable battery pack that’s compatible with other SANY heavy equipment assets, and supports both DC fast charging when swapping isn’t practical or (for whatever reason) desirable.
On a single charge and backed by the onboard KERS, that’s good enough for the machine can lift and move containers for more than 7 continuous hours, which SANY claims significantly reducing downtime for charging compared to other, similar equipment assets.
The new SANY reach stacker can stack six 50-ton containers, greatly enhancing a site’s container and battery storage density within a limited space. The first units will reach unnamed customers building out a utility-scale energy storage project by the end of this month.
Electrek’s Take
All the great stuff I was saying about the new 65-tonne XCMG still holds true for the SANY (especially when they take the wraps off their own 65t BESS-specific unit later this year), but the SANY adds smart battery swap tech and what seems to be more efficient operations, too.
Regardless of which one you choose, it seems like the available options for reach stacker operators are just getting better and better!
SOURCE | IMAGES: SANY.
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