Just choose
Volkswagen is working on a compact EV that will attack the Dacia Spring and Citroën ë-C3, but sister brand Skoda also has one on the drawing board. According to Skoda’s CEO, the question remains who has the ‘winning design’.
More and more car manufacturers are investing time and money in preparing relatively small electric cars, with a relatively low price. We are talking about the Citroën ë-C3 presented last year, but also its upcoming Italian cousin, the electric Fiat Panda. In any case, the Dacia Spring will soon have more competition, which will eventually come from the Volkswagen Group. It appears that not only Volkswagen is working on it, but also sister brands Skoda and Seat (or Cupra). Now you would say that that is an obvious situation, because those brands have numerous models that are closely related. However, the situation is currently a bit more complicated.
Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer arrives AutoExpress indicates that it is not yet a joint project at this stage. On the contrary, Volkswagen is working on an ‘ID1’ and Skoda is independently discovering the possibilities for an electric car costing around €20,000. “It has not yet been determined who will do it (the development, ed). We are working on a project that may lead to that entry-level model, but Volkswagen is also working on something similar and Seat has plans for cheap mobility. For the time being, we are all still working on it. .” It seems that sooner or later the decision will be made as to who has the ‘winning picture’ and who will then be allowed to lead this project.
In any case, according to Zellmer it is clear that the battery of the small EV plays the leading role when it comes to a favorable price tag. He hopes for a 50 percent cheaper battery. “Some companies have already announced that, it is doable.” He is unsure between nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP). The first has a relatively high energy density, which allows costs to be reduced, while the second is cheaper in terms of raw materials. Due to the limited size of entry-level EVs, an NMC battery would perhaps be the most obvious choice.
Before this possible entry-level EV from Skoda arrives, we are already introduced to other relatively cheap electric cars from the brand. After all, there is an electric crossover in the pipeline that belongs in the B segment. Volkswagen is also getting a cousin, a higher brother for the Volkswagen ID2. Cupra is also present with the Raval.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl