VW said to delay Trinity EV flagship, may bring forward electric Golf launch

Volkswagen Group is pushing back the launch of its Trinity flagship EV and might bring forward the introduction of a battery-electric Golf, Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing company sources.

Production of the Trinity, which was meant to be VW brand's Tesla fighter with advanced Level 4 self-driving features, is now set to begin at the end of 2032 instead of 2026, Handelsblatt said.

The delay is part of a reallocation of product launch investments by VW Group CEO Oliver Blume. It would allow the group's existing EV platforms -- MEB used by VW's ID cars and PPE used for the Porsche electric Macan and Audi Q6 E-tron -- to be used for longer so that their investment costs can be better amortized.

The MEB platform is due to be upgraded to MEB+ in 2026 and the PPE platform will get a software upgrade within the next 36 months with help from VW Group's new partner Rivian, Handelsblatt said.

The postponement is also a reaction of the slowdown of the EV market and Blume's cost-cutting drive, sources told the paper.

Blume's new EV product rollout would see:

• A full-electric Golf, codenamed ID Golf, launched in 2029 or sooner. The Golf EV would be the first VW brand car to use the group's new software-led Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) instead of the Trinity.
• A full-electric Audi A4 would launch at the end of 2028. This means Audi, needing a technology boost, would be the first VW Group brand to use the SSP architecture.
•  The VW ID4 successor based on the SSP platform would arrive in 2030 instead of 2028.
• The SSP-based VW T-Sport full-electric crossover launch would be pushed back to 2031 from 2029.

Trinity is one of several projects created under former VW Group CEO Herbert Diess that Blume has reshaped in an attempt to streamline the automaker's sprawling production network in the transition to electric cars.

The group's new EV launches have also been hit by delays at its Cariad software subsidiary. Blume brought on board U.S. EV maker Rivian and China's Xpeng to help overcome its software issues.

Blume had already delayed the Trinity EV's launch by two to three years until the end of the decade. He also scrapped plans to build a Tesla-style factory for the car near VW's Wolfsburg headquarters. It will now be built in VW's dedicated EV factory in Zwickau.

VW said at its results conference on Aug. 1 it would need to make significant cost cuts and reduce production capacity to revive margins.

Reuters contributed to this report