Volkswagen‘s two newest China models, the ID.ERA 5S plug-in hybrid sedan and the ID.AURA T6 electric SUV, have each secured 30,000 locked orders in four weeks, the head of the group’s China business said on Friday.
“The recently launched Volkswagen ID. ERA 5S from SAIC VOLKSWAGEN and ID. AURA T6 from FAW-Volkswagen have already secured 30,000 locked orders each in just four weeks,” Ralf Brandstätter, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Chairman and chief of Volkswagen Group China, wrote on LinkedIn.
He called it “a clear signal” that the group’s “in China, for China” strategy “is resonating with Chinese customers.”
The joint ventures’ own figures back the claim for the ID.AURA T6 but leave the ID.ERA 5S short of it.
FAW-Volkswagen said on October 20 that the ID.AURA T6 drew 33,022 locked orders in its first month on sale after its September 20 launch. More than 90% were for versions fitted with LiDAR.
SAIC Volkswagen said on October 17 that ID.ERA 5S deliveries had passed 10,000, with another 17,053 orders waiting to be filled. That adds up to about 27,000 orders across roughly eight weeks since the sedan’s August 21 launch.
The orders come against a backdrop of steep decline. Volkswagen Group’s China deliveries fell 38.5% in the third quarter to 405,800 vehicles.
Both models use the China Electronic Architecture (CEA), Volkswagen’s zonal electronic architecture, and Carizon’s HyperSense 8 driver assistance, including autopilot navigation on urban roads and highways.
ID.AURA T6
The ID.AURA T6 is priced from 129,900 yuan ($19,500) to 166,900 yuan ($25,000) across four versions.
The two LiDAR versions, the 660 Max at 149,900 yuan ($22,500) and the 660 Ultra at 166,900 yuan, made up more than 90% of orders. That means more than 30,000 buyers chose to pay at least 10,000 yuan ($1,500) more than the equivalent non-LiDAR 660 Pro.
The midsize SUV measures 4,811 millimeters with a 2,836-millimeter wheelbase, placing it in the same class as the Tesla Model Y. It offers up to 660 kilometers of range on the CLTC cycle with a CATL battery.
Its electronic architecture was co-developed with XPeng– Driver assistance runs on a Horizon Robotics Journey 6H chip with a 192-line LiDAR and 25 sensors. Carizon, which developed the HyperSense 8 system, is Volkswagen’s software joint venture with Horizon Robotics.
FAW-Volkswagen opened pre-sales in late August from 135,900 yuan ($20,400). It cut the starting price by 6,000 yuan at launch. Pre-orders passed 30,000 before the official launch, the company said.
Locked orders are not deliveries. FAW-Volkswagen has not disclosed how many ID.AURA T6 units it has handed over.
ID.ERA 5S
SAIC Volkswagen launched the ID.ERA 5S at the Chengdu Auto Show on August 21. Its limited-time price runs from 89,900 yuan ($13,500) to 119,900 yuan ($18,000) across five versions.
That is approximately 30,000 yuan below the 115,900-yuan ($17,400) starting price SAIC Volkswagen set when pre-sales opened on August 11.
The 4,836-millimeter sedan pairs a 1.5-liter engine with a 130-kilowatt motor. It offers more than 160 kilometers of electric range on the CLTC cycle and a claimed combined range of 2,000 kilometers. SAIC Volkswagen calls it Volkswagen’s first sedan globally with urban navigation-assisted driving.
Like the ID.AURA T6, it relies on Horizon Robotics for its driver-assistance hardware.
First owners get a lifetime vehicle warranty. More than 60% of buyers have chosen the top Max trim, according to SAIC Volkswagen.
The 10,000 deliveries took less than two months. Registration data showed 1,485 units in the last 10 days of August and more than 7,000 in September.
At that pace, the 17,053-order backlog would take more than two months to clear. The limited-time pricing applies to orders placed by October 31.
The XPeng SUV
The early orders stand apart from Volkswagen’s other recent China launch.
The ID.UNYX 08, the first model Volkswagen Anhui developed with XPeng, averaged 267 sales a month from April to August against a planned 3,622, Reuters reported this week, citing ThinkerCar data and company documents. It was priced from 229,900 yuan ($34,400) at launch.
Volkswagen did not comment on the sales goals when contacted by Reuters.
Planning documents from 2024 showed Volkswagen expected to sell 32,600 ID.UNYX 08s through the end of 2026 and 70,400 in 2027, rising to more than 120,000 a year later in the product cycle, according to the agency. Early this year it cut the 2026 projection by more than 60% to 12,300, but still forecast 64,000 for 2027.
Targets for the next XPeng-derived model are similarly aggressive. Planning documents forecast the ID.UNYX 09 sedan would average nearly 4,900 sales a month, with annual volume above 90,000 by 2034, Reuters reported.
Two people familiar with Volkswagen’s planning told the agency that ambitious forecasts can be essential to securing approval for new models from Wolfsburg, which can encourage optimistic projections.
Price is the obvious difference. The ID.AURA T6 and ID.ERA 5S start well below 150,000 yuan and are sold through the more than 3,000 dealers of the FAW and SAIC joint ventures. The ID.UNYX range relies on Volkswagen Anhui’s 166 outlets.
Market context
Volkswagen is leaning on Chinese suppliers and partners for exactly the features local buyers now expect as standard, such as LiDAR, urban navigation assistance and long electric range, at prices set by domestic rivals.
Chinese media have named the BYD Song PLUS, Changan’s Deepal S07 and the Leapmotor C10 as the ID.AURA T6’s direct price rivals. The ID.ERA 5S enters the crowded plug-in hybrid sedan segment.
Volkswagen Group delivered 1,378,800 vehicles in China in the first nine months, down 30.2%, as domestic passenger car sales fell 24.9%, according to China Passenger Car Association data.
The group said electrified sales in China rose about 30% in the third quarter, led by plug-in hybrid and range-extended models. Fully electric deliveries fell 30.1% to 18,000.
“Our new, locally developed electric models are beginning to make an impact,” said Martin Sander, Member of the Group’s Extended Executive Committee for Sales.
SAIC Volkswagen’s September sales fell 35.8% to 60,402, according to SAIC Motor.
Ralf Brandstätter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Group China, has warned that weak demand and shorter product cycles are increasing pressure on carmakers’ profitability. The ID.ERA 5S’s entry price is about a third of the ID.UNYX 08’s launch price, so strong orders will not necessarily translate into strong margins.
The next model is already in production. Brandstätter said on Tuesday that the first ID.ERA 5X compact SUV had rolled off the line at SAIC Volkswagen.
It is the first model to combine the Compact Main Platform (CMP), which supports battery-electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains, with the CEA architecture and HyperSense 8. FAW-Volkswagen’s ID.AURA L5 will follow later this year with the same technology stack, he said.
The group says it will launch more than 20 new energy models in China this year.
