VW wants to develop an electric car for 20,000 euros on its own. A partnership with Renault is not being pursued. Where the car will be built in 2027 is still open.
Volkswagen is foregoing a partnership with other manufacturers for its electric microcar planned for 2027. The vehicle, which costs around 20,000 euros, will now be developed alone. The world premiere is planned for 2027, Europe’s largest carmaker announced on Tuesday after a board meeting in Wolfsburg. A planned cooperation with Renault, however, did not materialize.
The vehicle will be manufactured in Europe. “This is a clear commitment to Europe as an industrial location,” said CEO Oliver Blume, according to the statement. “It’s about entry-level electric mobility from Europe for Europe.” VW has not yet named a specific production location.
The group has high hopes for the model, with which the Wolfsburg-based company wants to round off its electric range at the lower end and move into the electric entry-level segment. “For electric mobility to become widespread, attractive vehicles are needed, especially in the entry-level segment,” said the head of the core Volkswagen brand, Thomas Schäfer. “Our brand promise is: electric mobility for everyone. This promise is now being fulfilled in the Core brand group.”
In addition to a VW model with the working title ID.1, which Schäfer had already announced in March, a version from Škoda is also planned, according to “Business Insider”. The currently cheapest VW electric car ID.3 starts at just under 40,000 euros, the ID.2all planned for 2026 is expected to cost around 25,000 euros. VW discontinued the E-Up for under 30,000 euros last year. The ID.1 is now intended to fill this gap. From 2033, the core brand VW only wants to sell electric cars in Europe.
Development is underway
According to VW, work on the ID.1 is already well advanced. “We are already in the middle of it and know what the car has to look like,” said brand boss Schäfer back in March. Despite the low price, the aim is to “set standards in the entry-level segment.” However, the targeted price represents a major hurdle. “This is extremely challenging economically,” said Schäfer. “This task has become more demanding due to the rising costs of energy, materials and raw materials.” Due to the high cost of batteries, a price of 20,000 euros can only be achieved with very large quantities.
VW had therefore also examined cooperation with other manufacturers in order to achieve larger volumes. However, a cooperation with Renault that was initially planned did not materialize. The French manufacturer confirmed in the spring that there were talks about a common small car platform for electric VW and the Renault Twingo. A week ago, however, Renault boss Luca de Meo told the Reuters agency that the talks had failed. According to company sources, VW works council chairwoman Daniela Cavallo in particular is said to have spoken out against the model being built exclusively at the Renault subsidiary Dacia in Romania.
VW itself has not yet commented on the talks with Renault. In the spring, the company only spoke of four scenarios that were being examined for the production of the small car. CEO Blume did not rule out cooperation with another car manufacturer, but did not name any names.
Production in Germany unlikely
VW has not yet revealed where exactly in Europe the ID.1 will be built. However, production in Germany is considered unlikely. For cost reasons, VW had already outsourced the ID.2all to the group’s subsidiary Seat in Spain, where it is scheduled to roll off the production line from 2025 along with sister models from Cupra and Škoda.
The high prices for electric cars are considered by experts to be the biggest obstacle to the further expansion of electromobility. At the IAA Mobility car show in Munich last September, Chancellor Olaf Scholz appealed to manufacturers to include cheaper models in their range. The ramp-up of e-mobility “will not work if there are no offers that are affordable for a large number of citizens,” said the SPD politician. And the manufacturers “of course have an important role to play in this through the price.”
Source: Stern
