Volkswagen unveils $31,000 electric city car concept, but not for us
It had a price tag, but now it has a name and a line: Volkswagen's future small electric car, priced at around 20,000 euros (around $31,000 CAD), was unveiled on Wednesday by the automaker, which wants to position itself in the race for mass-market electric cars.
Following in the footsteps of Renault and Stellantis, the German group has presented the concept for the ID. EVERY1, scheduled for launch in 2027.
The four-seater car will have a range of 250 km and a top speed of 130 km/h, VW, the main brand of the Volkswagen Group, Europe's leading carmaker, promised on Wednesday at a press presentation in Düsseldorf, Germany.
With this new model, the struggling brand hopes to “strengthen its competitiveness”, according to a press release, as it faces stiff competition in the entry-level electric segment.
The new “people's car” will compete directly with the T03 from Leapmotor, Stellantis' Chinese brand, already on the market at around 20,000 euros.
It will also follow the Stellantis Group's future electric Citroën C3, expected this year at under €20,000, as well as the electric Dacia (under €18,000) and Twingo (under €20,000), both scheduled for 2026.
In terms of design, it features “clear, uncluttered shapes”, a large front window, a plunging roof in the middle “usually found on sports cars”, with a digital tablet in the cabin, Volkswagen describes.
To date, VW only offers much more expensive electric models, starting at 35,000 euros (around $54,227 CAD).
The brand has also promised to market the ID.2 as early as 2026, for around 25,000 euros (approx. $38,734 CAD).
The small car will be produced “in Europe, for Europe”, said the group, which plans to relocate production of its iconic Golf model to Mexico to cut costs.
Weakened by falling sales and eroding margins, the group announced this winter that it was cutting 35,000 jobs in Germany within the VW brand, and halting production at two of its plants - a historic first.
Automakers are under pressure to offer increasingly affordable electric models, due to the tightening of European standards on carbon emissions from their fleets.
However, the European Commission announced on Monday a delay in this tightening, relieving manufacturers who were threatened with billions of euros in fines.
