Volkswagen sold 70,625 ID electric cars in China last year, missing targets

BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) sold 70,625 of its ID electric vehicles in China last year, missing its goal of selling 80,000 to 100,000 cars, the company said on Tuesday.

“It was a pretty difficult year for us as a group.” the German automaker’s China chief Stephan Wollenstein said.

Supply chain constraints, including a global chip shortage, impacted production and were factors that contributed to Volkswagen failing to reach its ID sales goal, Wollenstein added.

The ID series, which Volkswagen produces at its Chinese joint ventures with SAIC Motor (600104.SS) and FAW Group, is the backbone of Volkswagen’s electric vehicle ambitions.

Among China’s top 10 electric car brands last year, the only foreign name was Tesla (TSLA.O). The list was dominated by Chinese automakers, including BYD (002594.SZ), Wuling, as well as Nio (NIO.N) and Xpeng (9868.HK), according to consultancy Automobility.

Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Shounak Dasgupta

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