Unlucky 7

Volkswagen does it again.  By that, I mean the brand has screwed its North American enthusiasts.

I saw the brand-new Volkswagen ID.7 electric sedan at the 2024 New York Auto Show, and even though it was the European model and the ID.7 was not due to arrive in the United States and Canada until 2026, I was immediately taken with the Passat-sized automobile.  I got to sit in it.  It was very comfortable inside, with controls that felt and looked modern without seeming too futuristic in an off-putting, George Jetson way.  To be blunt, I loved it.  The only thing wrong, of course, was that, given that it was not an official U.S. model, there was no other ID.7 available to test-drive in the auto show's indoor test track.  Not that I minded all that much; I knew that it would be unlikely that  I would buy one, as it is bigger than the cars I have usually owned and its asking price was expected to average about $55,000.  Still, I reasoned, it would be  welcome edition to VW's North American lineup, which is increasingly dominated by SUVs and crossovers.   

The Volkswagen announced that plans for offering the ID.7 to American and Canadian consumers had been canceled.  Apart from exports to China, the new electric sedan will be for the European market only.

Volkswagen's explanation for this about-face was due to "the ongoing challenging EV climate" in the U.S.  In other words, electric vehicles aren't selling in the numbers the automakers expected despite growth in the EV market. 

I mentioned this last month in my post about EVs and climate change, noting also that Elon Musk wanted Trump to eliminate President Biden's $7,500 tax credits for electric-vehicle purchases to discourage competition for Tesla.  And sure enough, Volkswagen saw the electric-sedan market in the United States and feared that the ID.7 would be too expensive for Americans unable to get a tax credit, but even before the Democrats got their joyful posteriors kicked by the MAGA juggernaut on Election Day, VW was unsure of how the ID.7 could set itself apart in an midsize-electric-sedan market segment already dominated by the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and - you guessed it - the Tesla Model 3.  But then there's the other inconvenient truth - American buyers still prefer SUVs to conventional sedans and hatchbacks, and that preference crosses over (no pun intended) to electric vehicles.  After all, that's why VW decided to make its EV debut in the New World with the frumpy ID.4 crossover and not the Golf-sized ID.3 hatchback (which is still unavailable in North America and will likely remain so).  

I give up.  Volkswagen has disappointed me so many times by producing some really cool cars in Europe that ended up being forbidden fruit in North America, from the Polo to the Lupo, from the third-generation Scirocco to the incredible up! city car, and now this.  Canceling the ID.7 for American customers isn't the worst thing Volkswagen has ever done - for me, that will always be dropping the base Golf from the North American market starting with the eighth generation - but it's the latest blow to an enthusiast customer base that is (or was) attracted to Volkswagen because they appreciate (or appreciated) the Germanic flavor and character of VW's products.  Now, Volkswagen prefers to pander to mainstream American tastes with American-style SUVs and crossovers to attract more casual customers while alienating and offending the enthusiasts who kept VW alive on this continent in the early nineties, when it looked like the automaker might have to quit North America like Renault, Fiat, and Peugeot (which still isn't coming back) had done.  Cancel the ID.7?  Hah- some gratitude.

So, apart from the Jetta and the overpriced remnants of the Golf lineup, the performance-oriented GTI and R, what are we left with?   An auto-company division, Volkswagen of America, that would rather play down the Volkswagen part and play up the America part than remain true to the brand's heritage, a division whose parent company is all too happy to water down its products for gabardine-suited gents in Ohio and Stepford soccer moms on Long Island.  As for me, I will continue to be a Volkswagen customer, but only for parts and service to keep my 2012 Golf looking and performing as new as it did when I drove it off the lot some thirteen years ago.