VW Group to sell cars directly to Irish customers for all its brands from 2026

Volkswagen Group is to sell its new cars directly online to Irish customers from June 2026 in a move that will see its retailers become responsible for new car handovers rather than the sales process.

VW Group Ireland will sell new vehicles directly online to customers across all its six brands – Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Skoda, Seat, Cupra, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Audi.

The change is expected to end the Group’s current contracts with dealers. VW Ireland has yet to indicate how it will pay dealers who sign up to operate under the new sales model for managing the handover process for new cars to customers.

The Volkswagen car brand currently has 39 sales outlets in the Republic, Skoda has 27, Seat 22, Cupra 16, Audi 11 and VW Commercials 21. Many dealers would operate a showroom for more than one of the brands.

From a customer perspective, VW says buyers for all its brands can either choose and purchase their car entirely online or go to a dealership for a physical experience of the car.

Ireland is one of the first markets for VW to adopt the new direct digital sales model. The move is in line with other brands which have rolled out similar digital sales in other States and several car makers have committed to move to direct digital sales across all markets in the future.

Alicia O’Connor, VW Group Ireland director of sales transformation and customer experience, said: “Irish customers are comfortable buying online. However, many still want the tactile experience of going to a showroom, getting into a vehicle and taking it for a test drive.” She said the new sales model would offer customers the best of both worlds.