Volkswagen’s entry-level £17,000 EV to make debut in March
Volkswagen will unveil its entry-level electric car to the public in the coming weeks after giving employees a sneak peak of the upcoming compact model.
VW CEO Thomas Schafer presented the new car to staff at the famous Wolfsburg factory as he also confirmed that the plant would lead production of an all-electric successor to the Golf and a forthcoming T-Roc EV.
The entry-level city car – which has previously been dubbed the ID.1 and the ID.Life but may revive the Up name – will make its public debut in early March but will not go on sale until 2027 at the earliest. Price from €20,000 (£16,660), it will sit beneath the ID.2 – a Polo-sized hatchback due for release later in early 2026.
Schafer said the car would be a ‘key step in making electro-mobility attractive for everyone’ and that low-cost entry level mobility would be a ‘cornerstone’ of VW’s future strategy.
The baby VW will be developed on the VW Group’s Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) – an evolution of the existing MEB architecture. Like its larger siblings, it will share most of its characteristics with Cupra and Skoda equivalents as part of the ‘Brand Group Core’ approach. When it goes on sale, it’s likely to compete with the updated versions of the Renault Twingo and Nissan Micra as well as a rumoured revived Citroen 2CV.
Daniela Cavallo, chairperson of the group works council, said: “The new all-electric entry-level model will be a Volkswagen in the genuine sense of the term. It is therefore appropriate that our employees at the Wolfsburg plant will be the first to have a preview of the design – before the general public.”
VW did not make it clear where the new entry-level model will be built but Schafer did confirm that Wolfsburg would ‘remain the heart of the Volkswagen brand in the electric age’. He told staff at the works meeting: “The Wolfsburg plant has a clear perspective for the future.
“The agreed relocation of the Golf to Mexico will free up space for advanced technologies. In Hall 54, new production procedures will be introduced. We intend to produce the electric Golf successor on the new SSP platform there, as well as the high-volume electric T-Roc. This way, we will be making Wolfsburg the capital of our new all-electric compact class.”
Despite a large ICE line-up Volkswagen has also embraced the shift to EVs, with the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, ID.7 and ID.Buzz already on sale. It recently announced that aince the launch of the ID. product family in 2019, it has sold more than 1.35 million ID. vehicles globally, including about 500,000 ID.3.