VW delaying new, more affordable electric cars – report
Volkswagen is reportedly delaying volume production of new cut-price electric vehicles (EVs) now that the spectre of strict new Euro 7 emissions rules has been vanquished.
Auto motor und sport reports full production of the Volkswagen ID. 2all concept, potentially to be called ID.2, has been delayed from 2025 to May 2026.
Volkswagen will reportedly still reveal the new electric hatchback in 2025, and begin manufacturing some units in the same year.
The car has been confirmed for Australia, but Volkswagen hasn’t announced local launch timing.
Volkswagen ID. 2all concept
The production ID. 2all will offer a base price of less than €25,000 (A$40,757). For context, the similarly sized, combustion-powered Polo starts at €21,590 (A$35,188) in Germany.
The European Council in September 2023 recommended significantly watered down Euro 7 emissions regulations, which go into effect from July 1, 2025.
Despite the new name, the Euro 6 emissions rules for petrol and diesel passenger cars and vans are unchanged, though there are tighter emissions restrictions on trucks and buses, new particle emission limits for brakes and tyres, and new rules for battery durability in electrified vehicles.
Previously mooted, stricter Euro 7 regulations had seen some car brands warn they would no longer be able to sell small combustion-powered vehicles profitably.
For example, the works council chairman of Volkswagen Group brand Skoda warned it would be prohibitively expensive to produce and homologate models like the Kamiq, Scala and Fabia, closely related to the Volkswagen Polo.
Weaker regulations may potentially mean the Polo will stick around for longer, but with the Volkswagen e-Up set to exit production, the Group’s namesake brand won’t have an EV at this price point.
Its ID.3 starts at €39,995 (A$65,204) in Germany, so Volkswagen won’t have a rival on price for the new Citroen e-C3 (priced from €23,300), or the BYD Dolphin (priced from €29,990).
Volkswagen brand CEO Thomas Schäfer told Auto motor und sport he’s making changes to vehicle production to reduce costs, with only 80 per cent of maximum forecast sales volume of a new model planned for production.
The company previously included a buffer in case demand was higher than anticipated, but it’s removing this following sales of some of its new vehicles proving slower than expected.
For example, Volkswagen paused production of vehicles like the ID.7 during 2023 due to low demand. It also paused ID.3 production.
The new 80 per cent planning rule is being employed first for the new Passat, and will be implemented for all future models.
Volkswagen claims the ID. 2all will be “inside as spacious as a Golf, but outside as cute and small as a Polo”, measuring in at just 4050mm long.
The ID. 2all concept has a front-mounted 166kW electric motor and a claimed driving range of up to 450km.
Debuting a new platform called MEB Entry, it features front-wheel drive unlike the rear/all-wheel drive MEB cars.
Volkswagen subsequently revealed a GTI version of the electric hatchback, again with front-wheel drive, at this year’s Munich motor show. The production version is due in Europe in 2027.
“Given Australia is a performance focused market and GTI makes up a significant portion of Polo and Golf sales, we will have our hand up for any future production version of the ID. GTI,” said a spokesperson for Volkswagen Australia at the time.
MORE: Volkswagen confirms budget electric car for Australia