Volkswagen Delays Trinity Project To Early 2030s, Here's Why

Volkswagen ID.4. (Doc. Volkswagen Group)

JAKARTA - Volkswagen is reportedly again delaying the planned launch of the latest ID.4 from the Trinity EV project to early 2030s. According to the company, this is part of a delayed program plan reshuffle.

Cited from Reuters, Wednesday, August 14, the executives argued that there was no longer any need to immediately release another larger car on the SSP platform, so it was appropriate to postpone the launch of the ID.4 and other SUVs to the early 2030s.

However, according to the Handelsblatt newspaper, there is another reason, namely that Volkswagen has postponed the launch of a new model due to the weakening demand for EVs and it is needed to cut costs. It is known, this German manufacturer said it needed to cut significant costs and reduce production capacity to revive margins. This was revealed at a sales report conference earlier this month.

Trinity is one of the relic projects of Volkswagen's previous CEO, Herbert Diess. Now, the plan has been changed by current boss Oliver Blume in an effort to streamline the production network while transitioning to electric cars.

In fact, the project is planned to launch a vehicle in 2026. However, due to software problems designed by Cariad's subsidiary, Trinity's project is delayed for the first time. To close the gap, the automaker has created a new version of the existing MEB platform and plans to release another version of ID.4 by 2026.

Thus, a number of brands under the auspices of the Volkswagen Group also took the initiative to cooperate with other companies in expanding their electrification models.

Audi has partnered with FAW in building an EV factory in China. The factory will start producing vehicles with the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture by the end of 2024. The manufacturer with the 'four rings' logo will also take advantage of the platform developed with SAIC Motor and plans to launch at least nine EV models in the bamboo curtain country until 2030.