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Volkswagen (VW) is delaying the launch of its flagship electric car, the Trinity, by several years amid sluggish EV demands in Europe.
Originally planned for 2026, the first model in the Trinity series will arrive sometime in the early 2030s, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters.
This decision comes alongside a reshuffling VM’s electric vehicle (EV) roadmap. The electric Golf compact car, initially expected alongside the Trinity, will now be the first vehicle built on the new SSP platform, with a launch targeted around 2029. The source also told Reuters that VM will release an upgraded version of the ID.4 SUV in 2026, using an improved design of the existing MEB platform.
This news comes after a report by Handelsblatt, a German newspaper, published on August 13. It claimed that the launch of the Trinity is now slated for 2032. The report also cited weak EV demand and software issues as factors behind the delay.
Trinity EV Project Roadmap
The Trinity project, conceived under Volkswagen’s former CEO Herbert Diess, was intended to showcase the company’s advanced electric vehicle capabilities and lean production methods. The plan was to shape the company’s EV architectures into a single platform, the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP).
However, the transition to new leadership under Oliver Blume in 2022 brought about new changes to the Trinity project. The initially designed electric sedan was transformed into a crossover/CUV, and production plans were shifted from a new plant in Wolfsburg-Warmenau to the existing facility in Zwickau.
This delay in the Trinity project reflects traditional automakers’ broader challenges as they navigate the transition to electric vehicles.
Last month, Porsche dropped its previous sales target for EVs due to insufficient customer demand. The company had initially aimed for EVs to make up as much as 80% of its new sales by 2030. However, the company has watered that down, suggesting that the actual figure will depend on how many customers choose to adopt EVs.
