Interest in sedans has been waning over the years, but they still represent a big chunk of sales. Ford shocked the industry this week when it announced that it’s killing off most of its car lineup, but the good news is that not every automaker feels the same. Volkswagen has released a similar message.” General Motors recently announced that it isn’t giving up on the sedan segment and now Volkswagen has released a similar message.
In an interview with Digital Trends, Volkswagen of America boss Hinrich Woebcken revealed that Volkswagen still sees life in the sedan segment, but the why reason might surprise you – electric cars. “The question of whether electric mobility will favor sedans or SUVs hasn’t been answered yet. When you’re talking about electric cars, sedans have more advantages. The shape and the [drag coefficient] has a high effect on range. Therefore, we’ll maybe see a higher sedan share on full electric cars than with conventional cars.”
Beyond the Tesla Model S and Model 3, we have yet to see a large number of electric sedans, since currently most fully electric cars are hatchbacks. The desire to use an sedan bodystyle for a more efficient electric car explains why the I.D. Vizzion concept was created. The I.D. Vizzion concept provides an idea of what an electric VW sedan could look like.
At the other end, VW also recently introduced two new cars, the 2019 Jetta and Arteon, so the thought of abandoning the segment is clearly not on the agenda. A new Passat is also in the works.
While sedans may stick around, the clear winner here is the crossover. “The shift from sedans to SUVs is a permanent one. In former times, when gas prices went up people moved back to sedans. We believe this will not happen anymore for two reasons. First, the difference in fuel economy between SUVs and sedans is not so big anymore. Second, customers do not want to give up the high seating position. I believe that trend will not reverse,” Woebcken revealed.
Source: Digital Trends
