Volkswagen Anhui will use the CEA architecture, a collaboration with Xpeng, for future models due to poor sales of the ID.UNYX, which went on sale in July, according to local media.
Volkswagen Anhui, the Chinese joint venture majority-owned by German carmaker Volkswagen, will drop its use of the MEB (modular electric drive matrix) platform's electric architecture for future models, switching instead to the CEA (China Electrical Architecture) architecture it has partnered with Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), local media outlet AutoPix reported today.
A big reason for the change is poor sales of the ID.UNYX, which went on sale in July, the report said.
A source close to Volkswagen Anhui said that apart from a handful of large customer orders, only a few hundred units of the ID.UNYX have been retailed since its launch, according to the report.
Volkswagen Anhui's first model based on the CEA architecture is expected to begin production in late 2025 and will go on sale in 2026, the report said.
As a result, the model Volkswagen Anhui had planned to launch after the ID.UNYX will be delayed until after the launch of the model built with the CEA architecture, according to AutoPix.
Volkswagen Anhui had originally planned to launch four models by 2026 and had planned several product lines, including the ID.UNYX and the series based on Volkswagen's MEB platform, with products mainly before 2026.
Another lineup is based on the “CEA architecture + CMP platform” with new models expected to start rolling out after 2026, the report noted.
The CMP is the platform used for vehicle manufacturing to replace the current MEB platform, according to the report.
All of Volkswagen's current ID. range of products from its two joint ventures in China, as well as the Audi brand's Audi Q4 e-tron, are based on the MEB platform.
In April of this year, Volkswagen announced that it would develop the CEA architecture with Xpeng, essentially following the latter's own EEA (Electrical Electronic architecture) architecture, the report noted.
Volkswagen Anhui launched its first EV model, the ID.UNYX, an all-electric compact coupe SUV on July 17, with a starting price of RMB 209,900 ($29,320).
Earlier today, Volkswagen Anhui announced on Weibo that customers who buy the ID.UNYX before December 31 will receive a RMB 40,000 discount, bringing the starting price down to RMB 169,900 yuan.
Customers who buy the ID.UNYX before November 8 will receive cash compensation.
Starting in 2026, Volkswagen Anhui will launch products based on the CEA architecture, lowering the starting price to between RMB 140,000 and RMB 180,000, according to AutoPix today.
($1 = RMB 7.1592)
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