Volkswagen Group is radically overhauling its business strategy to save money and stay afloat, and it may axe its Tesla-inspired direct-to-consumer retail model for EVs in major European markets.
In a press release, VW said that selling EVs through direct-to-consumer models while also selling ICE vehicles via traditional retail operations was too complex in Europe’s weak auto market, pointing to what it says is the slow pace at which consumers are buying EVs.
“Given challenging framework conditions, we will have to reevaluate if our current agency model for all-electric vehicles delivers the best possible customer experience,” Marco Schubert, the VW Group board member responsible for sales, said in a statement. Still, he added that direct-to-consumer sales will remain a “long-term target” for the automaker.
Tesla’s revolutionary direct-to-consumer model, which bypasses traditional dealerships in favor of selling cars directly through its own network of stores and online, has completely disrupted the way in which …