Volkswagen Group is pushing back the launch of its Trinity flagship EV and may bring forward the introduction of a battery-electric Golf, Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing company sources.
Production of the Trinity, which was meant to be VW brand's Tesla fighter with advanced Level 4 self-driving features, is now set to begin at the end of 2032 instead of 2026, Handelsblatt said.
The delay is part of a reallocation of product launch investments by VW Group CEO Oliver Blume. It would allow the group's existing EV platforms -- MEB used by VW's ID cars and PPE used for the Porsche electric Macan and Audi Q6 E-tron -- to be used for longer so that their investment costs can be better amortized.
The MEB platform is due to be upgraded to MEB+ in 2026 and the PPE platform will get a software upgrade within the next 36 months with help from VW Group's new partner Rivian, Handelsblatt said.
The postponement is also a reaction of the slowdown of the EV market and Blume's cost-cutting drive, sources told the paper.
Blume's new EV product rollout would see:
- A full-electric Golf, codenamed ID Golf, launched in 2029 or sooner. The Golf EV would be the first VW brand car to use the group's new software-led Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) instead of the Trinity.
- A full-electric Audi A4 would launch at the end of 2028. This means that Audi, which needs a technology boost, would be the first VW Group brand to use the SSP architecture.
- The VW ID4 successor based on the SSP platform would arrive in 2030 instead of 2028.
- The launch of the SSP-based VW T-Sport full-electric crossover would be pushed back to 2031 from 2029.
