Volkswagen launches ownership tools: Electric Vehicle hub and more wait time updates

One of the brands most affected by supply constraints this year has been Volkswagen, with its slow sales recovery largely out of step with 2022’s overall market growth.

Volkswagen Australia executives have assured WhichCar this doesn't come from disinterest in the brand, but rather restricted supply.

This has especially affected Tiguan and Tiguan Allspace, with VW Oz getting crafty to loosen up supply on in-demand 2.0-litre turbo variants – not to mention selling through Amarok stock ahead of the new model's 2023 launch.

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To help customers stay informed, Volkswagen has amped its ownership portal with greater communication to owners on the whereabouts and expected delivery time of its vehicles.

Additionally, the brand has rolled out an immersive ‘EV hub’ on its website designed to demystify the electric vehicle ownership experience in Australia. This will be crucial if VW is to nail its target of 150,000 EV sales Down Under between 2025-2030.

Wait time portal and real-time updates

“Times are different. It’s now the norm to wait for a car, rather than get one almost straight away. So we wanted to go even further as a brand; do more to keep our customers updated and provide them with an experience that matched our products,” head of product, Volkswagen passenger vehicles, Michelle Rowney told WhichCar.

“Customers will receive more meaningful updates on where their car is from factory all the way to delivery,” she added – specifically with update messages via text or email increasing from five to 11, and the ability to access an ownership portal on the brand’s website.

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“Linking through to a web experience with the mobile interface, customers will be able to view exactly where their car is in the process and also start to learn about all the technology features that they will soon come to experience.

“Also for the first time, an estimated shipping arrival of when their car is expected to arrive on Australian soil is provided. This is the first iteration of a multi-stage owner’s portal, which will go on to include various other owners tools in the future,” Rowney added.

Volkswagen’s EV hub is tailored to Australians

With four new electric vehicles and a pair of plug-in hybrids slated for local launch over the next 18 months, Volkswagen launched a customer-facing portal on December 7 to assist prospective EV owners in making their decision.

“Rather than tackling on our website the topic of BEV and PHEVs through a list of FAQs, we've really gone in a very different direction and created this very immersive, visual experience that not only talks about the product, but talks about topics of sustainability. It talks about anything that customers would need to know about e-mobility from the brand,” said Ralph Beckmann, general manager of marketing and product at VW Australia.

“We're working very closely together with our agency partners and partners like Google to understand what are the Australian unique concerns that are not related to the typical things like driving range and charging infrastructure.

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“Putting things like driving range in a local context, making sure that people understand and be able to plan that trip… phase one will be rolled out today and phase two is targeted for the first half of 2023,” Beckmann added.

As the second phase rolls out there will be a registration of interest module added for ID.4 and ID.5, as well as a total cost-of-ownership simulator comparing BEVs and PHEVs against ICE vehicles.

“Our ambitions are very clear. We're not here to dip our toe in the water,” Beckmann finished.