Various brands have recently indicated that they see less benefit in traditional compact cars. However, we cannot say that the A-segment is threatened with extinction. The transition to electric driving will play a major role in the survival of the smallest quadricycles. The Volkswagen ID.1 is one of the upcoming protagonists in that area.
Take a look around you on the Dutch roads and it is hard to imagine that car manufacturers have serious doubts about their role in the compact segment. Cars like the Peugeot 108, Toyota Aygo and Volkswagen Up could not be dragged on for years. The fact remains, however, that little profit is made by the brands on the smallest cars. High development costs in the field of CO2 reduction and safety do not pay off sufficiently with the cheapest cars. Manufacturers must therefore look for a way to meet the demand for compact cars, while keeping production costs low enough and with a sufficient profit margin.
The answer seems to be electrification. With a relatively small battery pack, compact EVs can still have a range that is sufficient for commuting or urban use. The production costs thus remain relatively low, safety increases due to the strength of an EV base and electric driving is perfect for the main target area of ​​the compact car: the city. Another additional advantage is that despite the still small size, the cars can become more spacious due to the lack of a combustion engine and gearbox.
Expansion for ID family
Although Volkswagen already offers compact EVs with the e-Up and related devices, that is just an intermediate step. Volkswagen will roll out its EV offensive with the ID label in the coming years. In contrast to the e-Up and e-Golf, these models are really developed from the ground up as EV. The ID.3 starts the day off and should become Volkswagens electric alternative to the still successful Golf. A cross-over is, how could it be otherwise, also in the barrel. Furthermore, Volkswagen already showed a precursor of a fully electric station wagon that should appeal to the EV-loving Golf Variant driver. The latest novelty is a compact EV, where Volkswagen shared a harbinger of last Christmas. That will most likely be ID.1.
Just as the ID.3 should appeal to the Golf driver, the ID.1 should do the same for the Up and partly for the Polo driver. This year Volkswagen is showing a concept version of the small newcomer, but our illustrator has already presented the car for us. The basis is recognizable as an Up-successor, but of course the necessary ID characteristics ensure a clearly less conventional appearance. Just like the other ID models, the ID.1 is also based on Volkswagens MEB platform. It would be a slightly simplified powertrain to reduce costs.
ID.1 in the wake of Up and Polo
Remarkably enough, the ID.1 does not seem to correspond entirely to the Up in terms of dimensions, but to become slightly larger. Although Polo dimensions are mentioned here and there, we bet that the outside dimensions of the ID.1 will be more in the middle between those of the Up and the Polo. We can assume that the ID.1 will be wider than the Up. Volkswagen even talks about a similar interior as the T-Cross, the cross-over based on the Polo. That is of course largely due to the aforementioned space benefits of an EV.
Not unimportant: the range of the ID.1 is said to be somewhere between 250 and 300 kilometers. These are, of course, estimates based on current knowledge, so it would not be surprising if that would be even more so. As mentioned, we see a draft version of ID.1 this year. For now, the introduction will be around three to four years ahead. Of course we can also expect Skoda and Seat derivatives from the ID.1.