The Volkswagen ID.7 was supposed to arrive at dealers in the United States toward the end of this year, but the German company delayed the electric liftback’s launch here because of “changing market dynamics.” Now, American dealers are chiming in and saying that they mostly support the move, as a flagship mid-size five-door EV would be a tough sell stateside, especially considering a hypothetical starting price of $50,000.
Add in the fact that the ID.7 is built in Germany, meaning the $7,500 federal tax credit when purchasing is out of the discussion, and you get a slow-selling car even before the first units set sail from Europe.
The ID.7’s course
The Volkswagen ID.7 electric liftback was supposed to replace both the Passat and Arteon in the United States. Now, its future here is uncertain as the market for a $50,000+ mid-size sedan that isn’t a Mercedes-Benz, Audi or BMW doesn’t really exist, according to VW dealers interviewed by Automotive News.
The vast majority of Volkswagen dealers in the United States support the delay of the ID.7, according to John Luciano, owner of Street Volkswagen in Amarillo, Texas, and a member of the Volkswagen National Dealer Advisory Council.
“We brought up a little bit of caution behind it,” Luciano told Automotive News. “Are we sure this is a good idea? We didn’t know the exact pricing, but [it’s] definitely a $50,000 to $60,000 car, without incentives. Is there any chance of it being competitive? And we felt like [it’s] not.”
Anthony Scala, co-owner of City Auto Group, which has three Volkswagen dealerships in the Chicago area, said that the ID.7 hasn’t spurred the interest of prospective buyers as the ID.Buzz minivan that’s slated for delivery in the U.S. in the fourth quarter.
“I just don’t think an expensive electric sedan is in the cards for most Americans right now,” Scala said. “North of $50,000 for a sedan that doesn’t have the star logo, the ring logo or the BMW logo?” Scala added, referring to Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW. “It’s a non-starter.”
Moreover, in recent years in the U.S., Volkswagen has struggled to sell sedans, period. While the Jetta remains perennially popular, the Passat was discontinued amid slow sales. The ID.7 was billed as an effective replacement for the Arteon sedan, but that was never terribly popular, either. VW has shifted its lineup to being largely SUV-focused in response.
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In Europe, the ID.7 has been on sale since last year and, according to Volkswagen, it has seen higher-than-expected demand, especially in its home country of Germany. In North America, however, the delay didn’t come with a revised launch date, leaving prospective customers and dealers alike in the dark.
The ID.7 was billed as a 2025 model, but as John Luciano said, the recent delay will likely push the electric liftback’s launch back at least one model year. This might turn out to be either very good for business, or another nail in the ID.7’s U.S. coffin. If VW rethinks its pricing and features strategy, it could be a winner.
If the car is just being delayed to wait out the perceived EV adoption slowdown and then launched as-is, it will already be a two-year-old model, albeit a very comfortable one, as we found out during our Euro review of it.
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