Volkswagen of America posted higher first-quarter U.S. sales on surging demand for the SUVs built at the automaker’s Chattanooga plant, including the all-electric ID.4, the company reported.
Sales of the battery-powered vehicle rose dramatically in the quarter compared to the same period last year, five times the 48% increase of all EVs, figures show.
Tom Taylor, a policy analyst for Washington, D.C.-based Atlas Public Policy who studies electric vehicles, said in a phone interview that the uptake of EVs continues to grow nationally.
“The U.S. is past the tipping point for the adoption for EVs,” he said. “It’s a really massive jump from where the market was a few years ago.”
Sales in the quarter of the conventionally powered VW Atlas SUV jumped 25%, while the Atlas Cross Sport rose 21.9%, according to the automaker. Both also are assembled in the Chattanooga plant that employs over 4,700 workers.