(Yicai) March 17 -- German automaker Volkswagen Group has released its first-ever extended-range electric vehicle model globally in China to fend off competition from domestic rivals.

SAIC Volkswagen, a joint venture with Volkswagen and China’s SAIC Motor, yesterday launched the ID. Era 9X, a six-seat sports utility vehicle described as Volkswagen’s largest passenger car ever built.

Volkswagen Group China’s former CEO Stephan Wöllenstein was skeptical about extended-range EVs, as he saw them as ‘transitional technology.’ But given the popularity of such models in China, Volkswagen decided to finally enter this market segment.

Multiple powertrain solutions, including pure electric and hybrid, will coexist in China for a long time, so a diversified product lineup will keep Volkswagen sufficiently flexible, Robert Cisek, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand for China, told media including Yicai.

SAIC Volkswagen’s goal for this year is to raise the proportion of new energy vehicle sales to over 20 percent from 5 percent, Fu Qiang, executive deputy general manager of sales and marketing, said earlier. This means that the ID. Era 9X, as well as the six other NEV models expected to hit the market this year, must deliver solid sales performances.

China’s retail sales of extended-range EVs neared 1.24 million units last year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. Despite that, the ID. Era 9X still faces challenges.

In fact, emerging brands, such as Li Auto and Aito, have already taken the lead in the high-end segment. Leapmotor, the country’s best-selling NEV startup, has adopted a dual-powertrain strategy of pure electric and extended-range models.

Moreover, the growth of extended-range EV sales in China slowed to 3 percent last year from 2024, much lower than the 24 percent increase for pure electric cars and 8.8 percent for plug-in hybrid vehicles, as the rising number of models on the market has not brought a proportional increase in sales, but rather diluted the market share of existing products.

Almost 50 extended-range EV models are already available in China, with more expected to be released this year, which will likely further saturate the market.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione