The German car manufacturer Volkswagen just presented the ID.2all concept, which we can call the “people’s electric car” – when the concept turns into a serial car, the starting price of this model will be around 25 thousand euros or even below this threshold. What could have been missed is the fact that Volkswagen is developing an even cheaper electric car – they are working on the ID.1 model, which will cost even less than 20 thousand euros.
Thomas Schaefer, head of the Volkswagen brand, emphasized that very intensive work is underway on this model, but this car should reach customers around 2027. It will sit below the production version of the ID.2all in the model range and will be VW’s smallest electric car. It is planned that this car will be built on a new platform, which is currently being developed by the Volkswagen concern, but Škoda has taken over the management of the project.
The ID.2all mentioned several times, the yet-to-be-presented VW crossover, the Cupra Urban Rebel and also an electric budget Škoda model will use the MEB Entry platform. All these cars have another feature in common – the starting price is around 25,000. Schaefer admits that creating an electric car that costs 20,000 and selling it in such a way that such a model brings profit to the company is a challenge, but he reminds us of the regularity of economics – producing more units reduces the cost of one unit. Since VW, Škoda and Cupra low-end electric cars will technically be practically identical, with only bodywork and interiors differing, Volkswagen will have large volumes that will reduce the price and make sure that these cheap cars are profitable and the manufacturer does not abandon them.
Schaefer promises that in the next few months, the manufacturer will provide more information about this new model, which is still in the development stage. It is expected that the ID.1 will be similar in size to the current Polo models. It is not excluded that the electric model will eventually take over the Polo name – it is planned to do this with the Golf and Tiguan names. “Polo is very successful and one of our most famous models. We will continue to use the concept of such a vehicle in the future. I don’t know if we will use the same name,” says Schaefer, adding that there is an option for hybrid names, such as ID.Polo. A version about ID.Golf has already been released. Technically, this model should be similar to the ID.2all, but with smaller batteries to reduce the price. ID.1 is actually intended as a distinct city car, which goes outside the city on very rare occasions.
