VW announces the launch date and price for its first truly affordable electric car

Volkswagen wants to launch an electric car for the first time in 2027 for 20,000 euros. “The working title is ID.1 and the vehicle is scheduled for 2027,” brand boss Thomas Schäfer said on Thursday at the digital annual press conference of the group’s volume group, which includes the Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat/Cupra and VW Commercial brands. Vehicles. With the small car, the aim is to complete the electric portfolio and offer “affordable electric mobility for everyone”, says Schäfer.

The date was therefore deliberately chosen one year after the ID.2all planned for 2026 for less than 25,000 euros.

Design for ID.1 already determined

The company’s board of directors reported on the project on Wednesday, but has not yet given a date. Work on the ID.1 is already well advanced, according to the brand boss. “We are already in the middle of it, we know what the car should look like.”

Head of development Kai Grünitz said: “In terms of the use of the car, the ID.1 will be very similar to the Up. In terms of appearance, there are not that many options to design a small vehicle for the city.” In terms of design and functionality, the car fits the Volkswagen brand, but at a lower price. With the E-Up, VW already introduced a small electric car on the market, but it was never economical due to the high battery costs.

The exact implementation of the ID.1 and where to build the vehicle have yet to be decided. “This is an enormous challenge from an economic perspective,” says Schäfer. Due to the high battery costs, a price of 20,000 euros is only feasible for very large quantities. Four scenarios are currently being investigated as to how this goal can be achieved. “We will make a decision soon.” According to reports, VW is also in discussions with Renault about a collaboration on the small electric car in order to realize larger numbers.

Eleven new electric models in 2027

The ID.1 is one of eleven new electric models that Volkswagen’s core brand wants to bring to the market by 2027 since the ID.7 came on the market last year. Also the previous one Combustion models Golf, Tiguan and T-Roc are “brought into the electric future”. VW continues to stick to its electric course despite the current weak demand. “The future of Volkswagen is electric,” said Schäfer. “We are sticking to our planning.”

VW launched its electric car offensive in 2020 with the VW ID.3 in Golf format. This was followed by larger models with ID.4 (SUV) and ID.5 (Coupé) up to the electric bus ID.Buzz with up to seven seats. The VW ID.7 electric station wagon was recently released, which is also available as a luxury sedan.

Volkswagen sold 12 percent more cars worldwide in 2023 than in the weak previous year. Only Toyota was ahead of the Germans. The group managed to make strong gains in the field of fully electric cars in 2023. The number of deliveries of pure electric cars increased by 35 percent year-on-year to approximately 770,000.

However, due to the abolition of the purchase bonus for electric cars in Germany at the end of 2023, demand in our neighboring country temporarily collapsed and VW had to scale back production and cancel shifts at its electric car factories in Zwickau and Emden.

(t-online/dpa/oli)