Global sales of Volkswagen Group’s battery electric vehicles (BEV) rose to 983,100 units in 2025, a 32% increase from 2024.
EVs accounted for about 11% of Volkswagen Group’s total vehicle registrations in 2025 — which have slipped 0.5% to 8.98 million units.
Europe continued to lead the German automaker’s BEV sales, representing 75% of total deliveries.
The Group — which includes brands from mass-market Skoda, Seat, and Volkswagen to premium Audi and luxury Porsche — sold 265,600 EVs worldwide during the fourth quarter.
Of these, 220,300 were sold in Europe, the only region where EV sales increased between September and December.
By contrast, EV sales dropped 73.6% in the United States and almost halved in China — where domestic brands continue to increase market share over legacy players.
Marco Schubert, member of the Volkswagen Group‘s extended executive committee for sales, told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that “the intense competitive situation in China, as well as tariffs and the discontinuation of electric vehicle subsidies in the US have impacted our business.”
China
Overall, Volkswagen’s total sales in China fell 8% in 2025 across all vehicle types, with battery-electric vehicles experiencing a decline of over 44%.
In 2024, the company’s fully electric vehicle sales in the market made up nearly 28% of the global figures, with 207,400 units registered.
Last year, that share had fallen to just 11.7%, less than half of the 2024 proportion.
Volkswagen, once the top-selling automaker in China, lost first place to BYD in 2024 and fell to third behind Geely Auto in 2025.
This decline was partly due to the company’s slow adaptation to China’s rapidly electrifying market.
Volkswagen has partnered with local companies, including FAW Group and XPeng, to develop vehicles better suited to Chinese consumers.
In 2023, the automaker partnered with XPeng to jointly develop vehicles for the Chinese market.
The collaboration initially focused on electric vehicles and later expanded to include hybrid and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as well.
United States
In the United States, Volkswagen‘s fourth quarter results bucked the overall growth trend for the year.
EV sales between September and December fell sharply to just 3,200 vehicles, about a fourth of the 12,300 units listed a year before.
Typically, the final months of the year are the strongest for the automotive industry.
However, this year the US market followed a different pattern, with most automakers posting their best sales in the third quarter, ahead of the September 30 deadline for the federal $7,500 EV tax credit.
The policy changes contributed to a lower result in the final three months of the year; however, Volkswagen‘s EV sales in the United States jumped 45.7% year over year in 2025 to 72,000 units.
Software Partnerships
The German automaker, a market leader in several European countries, is struggling to boost demand for electric vehicles in China and the US, where EV makers were able to gain significant ground but legacy automakers struggle.
One key reason for this is Volkswagen’s software capabilities.
After investing approximately €12 billion in Cariad, its in-house software subsidiary, the company has scaled back the division, which now mainly manages partnerships with software-focused companies, including China’s XPeng and California-based Rivian.
Late last year, a local report revealed that VW vehicles in China will be integrating XPeng’s autonomous driving (AD) software starting this year.
Mass production of the mid-size ID.Unyx 08 SUV, which was recently listed in a vehicle catalogue released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), is set to begin in the coming months.
Rivian and VW formalized their partnership in late 2024, with the German automaker committing $5.8 billion to the EV maker.
Volkswagen will adopt Rivian‘s zonal architecture and software stack for its future electric vehicles. It is set to debut in the upcoming ID.1 model, expected to launch in 2027.
Commenting on the joint venture recently, Rivian‘s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said it’s “inconceivable” that traditional automakers can “exist at scale and maintain their market share and not have a software-defined architecture” in the next decade.
