In three years, Volkswagen wants to introduce an electric car for the masses. The VW ID.1 is expected to cost around 20,000 euros and will rely on European suppliers.
Cheap electric cars are currently rare. If you are looking for an all-rounder suitable for everyday use for less than 30,000 euros, which you can also use for long journeys from time to time, you will only find a few new cars. This is set to change in the future, as the market is demanding cheap electric cars and China is making massive advances, at least in its domestic market.
VW ID.1 from 2027
But the ball is gradually getting rolling in the West too – even if it will take some time. At least a few companies have committed to actually delivering in the near future. Volkswagen is now one of them. As the news agency “” reports, the Wolfsburg-based company is planning another entry-level model immediately after the launch of the VW ID.2all, which is intended to mark the lower end of the range. VW had already mentioned the plans before, and the company is said to have now made the project more concrete at a board meeting.
“Reuters” writes that the vehicle is to be an electric car “around 20,000 euros” that will be presented to the world for the first time in 2027. The ID.2all is already planned for next year and is expected to settle at 25,000 euros.
Contrary to what was originally planned, Volkswagen will probably build the electric car on its own. The company had originally planned to bring Renault on board for the challenging project, but negotiations broke down at the beginning of May, it is said.
The question is whether Volkswagen is not already too late with its market launch in 2027. The competition from China will not be idle until then – and the VW ID.1 may already be left behind when it launches. If it came out today, things would look different.
An electric car from Europe for Europe
The ID.1 is an attempt to create a competitive entry-level vehicle using predominantly European resources. Volkswagen recently warned that the local automotive industry only has a few years left to prevent China from taking over the market. Currently, countless electric models are being traded in the Far East at ridiculous prices that no manufacturer in the Western world can compete with. Fortunately for the industry, however, these vehicles are not finding their way into the EU, at least for the moment.
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Volkswagen brand boss Thomas Schäfer stressed that the efforts cannot be made by the industry alone, but that political support is also needed to enable the production of European electric cars for the domestic market.
The fact that VW sees 20,000 euros as the lowest price category is another matter. Entry-level cars with combustion engines were still priced at around 10,000 euros a few years ago – with the change in drive systems, this price segment in the all-rounder sector seems to be dying out completely. In China, however, these exact vehicles already exist, although the quality of some makes is questionable. If exports start one day, VW and Co. will face the same challenge that they are already struggling to overcome today.
Source: Stern
I’m a recent graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. I started working as a news reporter for 24 Hours World about two years ago, and I’ve been writing articles ever since. My main focus is automotive news, but I’ve also written about politics, lifestyle, and entertainment.
