Volkswagen might be bringing Chinese-developed cars to Europe. Actually, they’re thinking about it seriously.
Sources told Handelsblatt the group is eyeing the ID. Era 9 for import. Big SUV. Developed with SAIC, who owns MG. It’s an EREV—Extended Range Electric Vehicle. That means it’s electric, but it carries a gasoline generator too. A 105kW engine up front just to keep the battery alive if you get stuck. Or just want range.
Specs are decent. 240kW rear-drive or 380kW four-wheel drive. Battery packs sit at 51 or 65 kWh. Not massive for a beast this size. But the gas motor covers the cracks.
Here is why it matters. VW ended production of the Touareg earlier this year. Suddenly, no large SUV on the menu. The ID. 4 and 5 feel small compared to the gap they left behind. This thing slots in above them.
CEO Oliver Blume already hinted at this path. He said they looked for segments where their current EU portfolio has holes. Exactly this. They’re also looking at an unknown model on the China Scalable Platform (CSP). Debuting 2027 presumably.
Tariffs are the real driver here.
The EU slapped a huge levy on Chinese pure EVs back in 2024. We are talking 35.3 percent on top of the standard 10 percent duty. Punitive. It hurts sales.
EREVs and plug-in hybrids? Different rules. For now, they dodge that extra tax. Chinese brands have pivoted to these formats to keep entering Europe. VW is just watching how that plays out. If the EU expands those tariffs to cover hybrid tech later, this plan gets harder to sell.
Then there is politics. Olaf Lies. Minister-President of Lower Saxony. His state owns 20% of VW.
If we produce vehicles here that we build in China, we stabilise plant utilisation. New development. Innovation.
Makes sense locally. Lower Saxony houses plants in Emden and Hannover. Reports just last week said VW might close four German factories. Two of those are right in Lies’s backyard. Moving Chinese-designed production home could save jobs. Or at least make the closure argument messier.
Remember when China was the golden goose? Now it is a problem child. Local brands ate VW’s lunch there. Fast acceptance of domestic EVs forced a pivot. “In China, for China” is the new mantra. They work with SAIC and Xpeng to survive.
So now the arrow points back West.
Is this unprecedented? Not entirely. The Cupra Tavascan builds exclusively at a VW-JAC joint venture in Hefei. It comes to Europe already. It had a tariff hit initially, sure. Now it pays the standard rate under a price deal with Brussels. Precedent exists.
The dynamic shifted. Years ago Western brands exported tech to China. Now the reverse happens. Mazda. Nissan. Ford. GM. All using platforms from Chinese partners.
VW isn’t late. Just adjusting.
If the tariffs hold, the ID. Era could land on our streets. If not? Who knows.
Maybe they build it here anyway.
