Volkswagen has sunk to a new low. The once-mighty carmaker, now battered by collapsing profits, soaring energy costs and a string of flopped electric models, has hatched a new plan, to start making drivers pay for the power already sitting under their bonnet.
In Britain, the company is now selling its ID.3 electric hatchback with a motor deliberately crippled in software. Out of the box, it delivers 201hp. To access the full 228hp, owners are told to cough up £16.50 a month or a one-off £649. And the so-called “lifetime” payment doesn’t even belong to the buyer — it stays with the car. Sell it, and you’ve just given away the horsepower you paid for.
It would be a grubby tactic at the best of times, but in the current climate it reeks of desperation. Once Europe’s industrial crown jewel, Volkswagen is now watching its EV dreams unravel.
Sales have been outstripped by Tesla and BYD, its ID.Buzz launch in the United States flopped with barely a few hundred deliveries, and spiralling energy costs in Germany have forced the company into drastic cutbacks. Operating profit has fallen 40 per cent, margins on electric models have been gutted, and tens of thousands of jobs are being shed in restructuring.
In a final humiliation, Volkswagen in 2024 sold more of its famous currywurst sausages, than actual automobiles. Yes their vehicle sales have been outpaced by a sausage.
The difference between hardware and hype is what stings drivers most. The ID.3 already has the same motor and tuning, fully capable of the higher output. VW concedes it’s simply locking away performance with software and demanding drivers pay to “unlock” what they already own. Critics have called it the grossest move yet from a brand that once defined the mass-market car.
Volkswagen insists this is no different to the days when engines were sold in different trims, but customers aren’t buying it. Back then, you were paying for different engineering. Now, you’re paying for the company’s desperation.
