Only 5% of buyers will want a petrol car in 10 years, says VW board member

The rise and fall and rise again of the electric vehicle market has been a story of twists and turns, with numerous market forces pulling and pushing the pure plug-in segment in all sorts of directions in the last five years. 

But, for Volkswagen, it appears the brand has made its bed and placed its bet on EVs becoming the dominant force by the middle of the next decade. 

In a recent interview with UK outlet Auto Express Volkswagen board member for sales, marketing, and aftersales Martin Sander compared the internal combustion engine (ICE) versus EV argument with the comparison between the first cars and the horse and carriage.

He added that the percentage of customers that will want to own an ICE vehicle by 2035, "three, four, five percent".

He said this in the context of the ongoing British and European debate around the proposal to ban the sale of electric vehicles, suggesting that the media and industry framing around the debate is hurting EV sales prospects. 

“[Today] I look out of the window: not many horses – it’s predominantly cars,” said Sander.

“This is why I hate the discussion about the ICE ban. Everyone is just talking about the ICE ban. How do you convince customers about a new technology if you’re only talking about when there will be a date when you are not allowed to use these vehicles – vehicles you have got used to over the last decades – anymore?”

The initial proposals for Europe to ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035 are expected to be watered down following pressure from the motoring industry and EU member states like Germany and Italy.

Sander believes the conversation should instead pivot towards more productive talking points, like charging networks and power prices. 

“Let’s talk about what we need to do to actually convince customers: the charging infrastructure; talk positively about the advantages of electric vehicles, and possibly do something around the energy prices,” said Sander. 

Locally, Volkswagen offers four fully electric nameplates. 

After briefly being put on hiatus following the market’s dip in electric vehicle sales, Volkswagen recently brought back the ID.4 and ID.5 — although only in dual-motor GTX configuration. The brand also offers the ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo.