Just days after announcing it would invest over $US130 billion into electrification and digitisation, Volkswagen has presented the concept of a new “affordable” electric vehicle, which it has dubbed the ID. 2all model.
Volkswagen says it will present the production version of the all-electric hatch – tipped to cost Costing less than €25,000 ($A39,900) – to the European market in 2025. The ID. 2all will have 450km range and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of under 7 seconds.
The ID.2all will be slightly shorter in length than the VW Golf, and will be 4,050 mm long by 1,812 mm wide by 1,530 mm tall.
Volkswagen group, whose brands include Porsche, Audi, Cupra and Skoda, sold more than half a million fully electric vehicles in 2022, making up 7% of the company’s total sales. It has yet to bring any VW branded EVs to Australia for sale, although the Cupra Born is now available.
The ID. 2all will be the group’s cheapest electric offering to date. But by the time it finally goes into production in 2025 there may be a number of EVs on the market for less than €25,000 ($A39,900) including a new Tesla model which is also projected to cost around $US25,000 ($A37,700).
The world’s second largest automaker will need to get moving on production if it hopes to stay in the game after Tesla showed off a multitude of new manufacturing techniques during its recent Investor Day which it says will enable it to dramatically scale production volume.
Commenting on the new concept car Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars said: “We are transforming the company rapidly and fundamentally with the clear objective of making Volkswagen a genuine Love Brand.
“The ID. 2all shows where we want to take the brand. We want to be close to the customer and offer top technology in combination with fantastic design. We are implementing the transformation at pace to bring electric mobility to the masses.”
Development of the ID. 2all is based on Volkswagen’s modular electric drive (MEB) platform.
Kai Grünitz, member of the brand board of management responsible for technical development said the ID. 2all will be the first MEB vehicle with front-wheel drive.
“We are exploiting the great flexibility offered by our modular electric drive (MEB) platform and will set new standards in terms of technology and everyday usability with the MEB Entry platform.”
The design closely resembles VW’s Golf which has been the best selling car in Germany since 1981. Keeping a similar shape for its first all-electric people’s car, VW may be hoping the similar appearance will make the transition easier for some.
Volkswagen says its new electric car can be charged to 80% in less than 20 minutes, although specifics are not mentioned.
Volkswagen says its planning on a least 20% of all new vehicles sold to be fully electric by 2025, which is before production of the ID. 2all is scheduled to begin. But that time, many analysts believe EV market share will be well over 50%.
The Driven’s take: Whether Volkswagen can execute the shift to electric vehicles before it loses huge amounts of market share to others remains to be seen. However it is promising to see that an all-electric mass produced “people’s car” is finally being developed.
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.