It’s a story of two Volkswagen models, the Jetta and ID.4. One represents the brand’s storied past, and the other embodies its electric future. While the year-to-date Volkswagen sales for the Jetta and Volkswagen ID.4 seem similar on the surface, these numbers don’t tell the full story. Here’s a look at the sales trends of these two Volkswagen models and how they represent a changing of the guard for the German auto manufacturer. 

What the 2023 Volkswagen Jetta offers

The Volkswagen Jetta is a compact car that has been in production since 1979. The 2023 Volkswagen Jetta is available in four various trim levels, including the S, Sport, SE, and SEL trims. Volkswagen offers the baseline S trim at a starting MSRP of $20,665. The Sport starts at $21,555. The SE starts at $24,385. The highest level SEL trim level has a starting MSRP of $28,385.

All four trim levels sport a 1.5L turbocharged engine under the hood. The S and Sport trims come standard with a six-speed manual transmission. However, both can be upgraded to an eight-speed automatic transmission for an extra $800 added to the build price. In contrast, the SE and SEL trims are only available with the eight-speed automatic transmission. 

A look at the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 

The Volkswagen ID.4 is an all-electric SUV that Volkswagen first introduced to its lineup in 2020. The 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 is available in five various trim levels, including the Standard, Pro, S, Pros S, and Pro S Plus trims. Volkswagen offers the baseline Standard trim at a starting MSRP of $38,995. Both the Pro and S trim levels start at $43,995. The Pro S starts at $48,995. The highest level Pro S Plus trim level has a starting MSRP of $51,445. 

These SUVs sport an all-electric powertrain that features either a single rear-mounted motor or a dual motor. The single motors make 201 hp while the dual-motor produces about 295 hp. The baseline Standard trim gets an estimated range of 209 miles, while the upper-level Pros S Plus gets an estimated range of 275 miles. AWD is available on select trims. However, consumers should note that adding AWD capabilities diminishes the estimated range by about 20 miles.  

Volkswagen sales trends point to an electric future 

The year-to-date sales trends for these two Volkswagen models seem pretty similar on the surface. However, these numbers fail to tell the real story that is at play. According to GoodCarBadCar, Volkswagen’s year-to-date sales for the Jetta is 16,224 units. In contrast, the year-to-date sales numbers for the ID.4 are 16,448 units. 

Overall, there’s about a 200-unit difference in year-to-date sales between these two Volkswagen models. However, this data also reveals that the sales numbers for the ID.4 are on the rise year-over-year, while Jetta’s is on the decline. According to GoodCarBadCar, Volkswagen sold a total of 15,128 ID.4 units in 2022 and 16,745 ID.4 units in 2021. The slight decrease in sales between 2021 to 2022 can be chalked up to supply chain issues with all-electric parts that were needed for the ID.4 builds. Regardless, Volkswagen has already sold over 16,000 ID.4 units in 2023 with six months left to go in the calendar year. 

In contrast to the growth of ID.4 sales, the Jetta is seeing a strong decline year-over-year. The data from GoodCarBadCar shows that Volkswagen sold 34,032 Jetta units in 2022 and 55,113 Jetta units in 2021. With over a 20,000-unit drop in Jetta sales between 2021 to 2022, combined with the fact that Volkswagen only sold around 16,000 Jetta units during the first six months of 2023, things aren’t looking too bright for the gasoline-powered sedan. 

With a steady decrease in Jetta sales and a steady increase in ID.4 sales, it looks like Volkswagen may be transitioning to an all-electric future faster than it once thought.