Cheap electric Volkswagen will come no later than 2027

Volkswagen intends to expand the ID label considerably. The Volkswagen ID7 will make its debut on April 17, but Volkswagen also wants to introduce a number of more accessible electric ID models in a much lower segment. With the ID2all Concept, Volkswagen already looked ahead to the Volkswagen ID2 in March, an electric hatchback in the Polo segment that will be launched on the market in 2025 and should have a starting price of less than 25 grand. Simultaneously with the unveiling of the ID2all, Volkswagen reported that it was also working on an electric model that will be placed under the ID2 and that should cost less than €20,000 in base. In conversation with Automobilwoche, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer now says that the new least expensive electric Volkswagen will be on the market ‘no later than 2026-2027’.

Volkswagen ID2all Concept.

According to Schäfer, that small electric Volkswagen – which we will call ID1 for now – is being developed under the leadership of Skoda. The Volkswagen CEO indicates that the ‘ID1’ will probably not be placed on the MEB Entry platform that the ID2 will use. “We could join another car manufacturer for it, but given the scale at which we want to produce, we probably won’t. We are currently exploring a number of options, but it is too early to say anything about that. It is new territory for us and the model must become profitable.” Until the arrival of the ‘ID1’, the electric e-Up is the smallest electric Volkswagen, but Volkswagen will pull the plug from that model in mid-2024 because the car will then no longer comply with cybersecurity regulations, according to Schäfer. Adjusting the Up would be too costly.

Volkswagen ID2

Schäfer also provides interesting insights into the production version of the Volkswagen ID2all Concept. The ID2 will soon be built in Martorell, Spain, on the same production line where Cupra will produce the UrbanRebel – which will receive a final model name. As is now known, Volkswagen also comes with an electric compact crossover that you should see as a sister model of the ID2. Just like the compact electric crossover from Skoda, it will see the light of day in Pamplona, ​​Spain. According to Schäfer, the Cupra Urban Rebel and the compact electric crossover that Skoda has in the pipeline will cost more than €25,000 in the base. More so than the ID2.

The Volkswagen ID Life whose design ended up in the trash.

The Volkswagen ID2all was nothing like the Volkswagen Life Concept, the earlier harbinger of a more compact electric Volkswagen. The design of that Life Concept was consigned to the trash. According to Schäfer, the Life Concept was designed at a time when EVs and comparable cars with combustion engines would be sold side by side and when the electric models had to have a different design style. According to the CEO, that is no longer necessary.

And further?

The ID2 will also get a GTI-like version, probably a GTX variant. According to Schäfer, there will not be a huge number of engine versions and flavors of the ID2. “[…] We won’t make that mistake anymore,” says the CEO. Will the ID2 replace the Polo? According to Thomas Schäfer, that depends entirely on how the introduction of Euro 7 turns out. “Currently, you can purchase a manual Polo with a 1.0 petrol engine. That will soon no longer be possible. He will then have to get a (mild) hybrid powertrain and automatic transmission. Compact cars with combustion engines seem to be getting expensive.” For the time being, there is still a place within Volkswagen for combustion engines. Although the brand will kill the combustion engine itself in Europe in 2033, the brand will be introducing a new Passat this year, but also with a new Tiguan and a completely new T-Roc. These seem to be the last new models from Volkswagen with combustion engines in Europe. The Golf will receive a ‘thorough facelift’ next year and should last until the end of this decade. There will not be a new Golf with combustion engines. Does the Golf still have a future? Certainly. According to Schäfer, the Golf is heading towards an EV future, but not before Volkswagen has the new SSP platform ready. “The Golf must have Golf DNA, said the chief executive.