Volkswagen is betting the company’s future on a new €20,000 compact electric vehicle (EV) to recapture the mass-market glory days of the VW Beetle.
The new people’s car, VW hopes, will be the ID.Every1, unveiled this week with looks that recall the original Golf and a price point of €20,000 closer to the discontinued Up! compact.
“The ID.Every1 is an extremely important car for us because it will be the electric entry into the brand,” said Thomas Schäfer, VW brand board member. “But it is also a sign for the entire group that small vehicles can also be produced economically.”
The model measures just 3.88 by 1.81 meters, has a range of at least 250km and will go on sale in 2027. For cost reasons, the Every1 will be produced in southern Europe plants rather than in Germany.
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Larger than the Up! yet smaller than the Polo or ID.2, the blacked-out windows of the show model left little to say about its interiors or software. The latter, Mr Schäfer conceded, posed a “steep learning curve” for the company after software problems in recent models.
The new model will run on “modern software architecture”, according to Mr Schäfer, abandoning its in-house platform in favour of a partnership with Rivian. VW partnered with the American electric car manufacturer last year to expedite an alternative software platform.
Initial reaction in Germany was mostly pleasant surprise.
AutoBild praised the “clean, streamlined” design and, quoting VW, said the new model is “80 per cent ready for production”.
“The front is supposed to make a friendly impression and reminds me of a much older car, namely the Golf 1,” said AutoBild editor Sebastian Friemel. “VW says they want to make [the front] look like a smile.”
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Whether VW will have anything to smile about with the Every.1 remains to be seen, given VW is handing its Korean and Chinese rivals two more years to carve up the entry-level electric market between them.
The influential Heise platform noted few visual gimmicks such as vertical daytime lights, recessed door handles and 19-inch tyre rims.
“Overall, the model seems surprisingly conventional at first glance,” it added, “but that is not surprising as VW has attracted a wide audience with this type of design in the past.”
News of the new VW comes amid further signs of a slump in Tesla sales in Germany: down 76 per cent in February to just 1,429 new registrations.
