German OEM VW grew its BEV sales by 35pc across 2023, selling 771,000 EVs worldwide throughout the year, the firm reports in its 2023 full year results.
This growth rate puts VW significantly above German rival BMW, which saw only a 15pc year-on-year improvement in its BEV sales for full-year 2023.
However it trails fellow legacy German manufacturer Mercedes, which saw a 73pc rise in BEV sales during the year. But Mercedes started from a lower baseline, and its 73pc growth only brought its total BEV sales to 222,600 units – less than a third of VW's.
VW's BEV sales also grew nearly three times more than its overall sales growth, which was 12pc for 2023. The OEM also says that its share of BEVs rose continuously over the course of the year, reaching 8.3pc for 2023, compared to 6.9pc in 2022.
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Although the company says that is 2023 sales were "driven by growth in all regions", the company's operations in China have provided a major boost for its BEV division.
China is the group's largest single market, and saw deliveries to customers grow by 2 per cent in 2023, despite a demanding market environment.
"The Volkswagen Group is continuing to invest particularly in the Chinese market, new products, its battery business, and its platforms for BEVs and combustion models," VW Group says in a statement.
While the company does not split out its EV-related financials from its overall results, VW announced doubled net cash flow and reinvestment ratios of up to 14.5pc as it looks to increase its EV production capacity, particularly in China.
Last week, the firm announced a partnership with Chinese automaker Xpeng to collaborate on platform and software technology, as the two firms jointly develop two B-segment EVs as part of the partnership announced in July last year.
Ciaran has written about finance, politics and culture. He is passionate about e-mobility and what it means for our way of life.
Ciaran has a Masters in Ancient Philosophy from Oxford University.
