Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz announced the company’s plan to introduce plug-in hybrid models to the United States, according to Reuters. The executive reportedly stated that VW plans to ‘double’ its U.S. market share by 2030 and is currently working on new projects. To boost struggling EV sales, VW believes PHEVs could drive growth, with SUVs like the redesigned Tiguan and larger Atlas being key hybrid candidates. Volkswagen shops in the US currently only sell cars that run on gas or electricity; hybrids are not available. Reuters says the German carmaker wants this to change. VW’s chief financial officer, Arno Antlitz, said the company hopes to bring plug-in hybrids to the US market. Antlitz may have talked about those things yesterday at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. They were part of the company’s overall aim to “double” its market share in the United States by 2030. Volkswagen wants to get about 8% of the American market, which it has now at 4%, according to Reuters. Volkswagen had a lot of money problems the year before. One of their plans to cut costs almost caused German factories to close, which led to a fight with European Union workers that has since been settled. Many automakers have had trouble with inconsistent EV sales, which has hurt Volkswagen the most. Its ID.4 electric SUV just started production again after being on a months-long stop-sale order because the door handles weren’t working right. VW thinks that PHEVs can help close the gap and boost sales to compensate for the fact that people aren’t interested in its EVs. Antlitz didn’t say which plug-in types would be sold in the United States, but we can guess. Some people think that the plug-in hybrid form of the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan will come to the United States, but nothing official has been said. Still, the Tiguan is VW’s best-selling car in the US, which makes it a great choice for the PHEV version here. However, it’s not clear how President Trump’s plans to put taxes on imports will change this possibility. The bigger VW Atlas, which is made in Chattanooga, Tennessee, might be a good candidate for a plug-in hybrid engine. Edmunds says that VW CEO Thomas Schäfer said in November that the company wants to bring a hybrid version of the Atlas and Tiguan to North America. Whether he meant a plug-in hybrid or a regular hybrid wasn’t clear from his words.
