This new Polo-sized offering – with a planned base price of €25,000 ($AU40,000) – is among 10 new electric cars due from the German car maker by 2026, and a GTI performance variant is planned.
The Volkswagen ID.2all has been revealed, a new concept car presaging an entry-level electric hatchback due in 2025 at a targeted starting price of under €25,000 ($AU40,000) in today’s money.
Conceived following internal criticism of the earlier ID. Life concept unveiled by Volkswagen in 2021, the new price-leading electric hatch is being developed alongside a production version of the Cupra UrbanRebel concept, and a yet-to-be-revealed entry-level electric Skoda model.
The new model – which could adopt the ID. Golf name, as previously reported by Drive – is planned to offer up to 166kW in a range-topping GTI front-wheel-drive performance model.
All three compact electric models are set to be produced at a factory in Spain run by Volkswagen Group brand Seat from 2026, with possible additional production at one of Volkswagen’s joint-venture operations in China at a later date.
Australian launch timing is yet to be confirmed, but the company’s local division said late last year it is interested in the new model – and Volkswagen in Germany says the ID.2all concept points to a global model.
Positioned below the existing Volkswagen ID.3, the production version of the ID.2all will be the first Volkswagen to be based on the company’s MEB-Entry platform, a skateboard-style structure said to play an important role in meeting the sub-€25,000 ($AU40,000) price point announced at its unveiling in Germany overnight.
“We are transforming the company rapidly and fundamentally. The ID. 2all shows where we want to take the brand: close to the customer, with top technologies and a fantastic design. We are implementing the transformation at pace to bring electric mobility to the masses,” said Volkswagen boss Thomas Schafer.
The exterior design of the ID.2all reflects the first stages of what Volkswagen describes as a new styling language to be featured on the company’s future models from 2025 onwards.
Developed by Volkswagen’s newly-appointed design boss Andreas Mindt, it departs radically from the earlier ID. Life concept, with a more conventional hatchback shape and a five-door layout aimed at providing maximum practicality within compact dimensions and a relatively small footprint.
Mr Mindt – former head of exterior design and Audi and head of design at Bentley – says the new design is based around the three traditional Volkswagen brand values: “stability”, “likeability” and “excitement”.
The executive says the styling draws from iconic Volkswagen models such as the Beetle, Kombi and Golf, and will be featured on the production version of the ID.2all with little change.
Classic cues include a rear pillar design intended to evoke that of the original Golf. Mr Mindt also says he has provided the ID.2all with a “friendly face” and reduced the amount of sheetmetal within the body above the wheel arches to give it a “powerful stance on the road”.
At 4050mm in length, 1812mm in width and 1530mm in height, the ID.2all is 212mm shorter (in length) and 3mm wider than the existing ID.3 hatchback.
It also rides on a wheelbase that is 165mm shorter than Volkswagen’s first dedicated electric model at 2600mm.
To put this into further perspective, the new concept is 24mm shorter in length but 61mm wider than the current Polo city hatch.
The basis for Volkswagen’s smallest electric model yet is a further developed version of its existing Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) dedicated electric-car platform.
Known internally as the MEB Entry, the new structure has been engineered specifically for cheaper front-wheel-drive models and includes developments set to be incorporated on the upgraded ‘Evo’ version of the standard MEB platform planned for larger ID. models, according to Kia Gruenitz, Volkswagen research and development boss.
“Its variability offers benefits, and the scale effect lets us inexpensively integrate technologies from [larger vehicle categories],” says Mr Gruenitz of the new platform, which is expected to support a 400-volt electric architecture.
Power for the ID.2all comes from a front-mounted electric motor delivering a claimed 166kW – sufficient, according to Volkswagen’s own figures, to provide it with a Golf GTI-challenging 0-100km/h time of “less than 7.0 seconds” and a “limited 160km/h top speed”
Mr Gruenitz says this is at the top end of the company’s power and performance targets for the new Volkswagen model.
Other less powerful electric motors will also be offered in the production version, which at this stage of development is planned to be offered exclusively with front-wheel drive, for more relaxed performance than that hinted at by the concept.
Previously, Volkswagen has hinted at returning to the GTI nomenclature for its performance-oriented electric cars in place of the GTX name in use today.
No official details on the size of the new hatchback’s planned battery, which is mounted completely within its flat floor for maximum space-saving, have been revealed.
However, in a strategy similar to its existing electric ID models, Volkswagen has sait it is exploring a number of pack designs with differing capacities and chemical processes, including a new lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery currently in development at Volkswagen headquarters in Germany.
While Volkswagen admits its driving range estimation is not final, it does say the ID.2all will be capable of travelling up to 450km between charges on the European WLTP test cycle.
By comparison, the ID.3 claims a maximum WLTP range of 548km in combination with its largest battery, a 77kWh lithium-ion unit.
No information has yet been provided about the new car’s DC charging capacity, however Volkswagen does suggest the battery will be able to be charged in less than 20 minutes on a high-powered charger.
It also supports 11kW AC charging, allowing its energy stores to be topped up via a wallbox charger at home, the office or a shopping centre.
As with its exterior, the interior of the ID.2all is claimed to provide a clear preview of what is planned for the production version of Volkswagen’s upcoming entry-level electric model.
There’s seating for five, and despite the relatively compact external dimensions, accommodation both front and rear is claimed to be similar to today’s eighth-generation Golf thanks to the dedicated electric-car platform, which enables a completely flat floor.
Included in a new-look dashboard are 10.9-inch instrument and 12.9-inch infotainment displays, as well a multi-function steering wheel with rotary controllers on each of the horizontal spokes, and a head-up display unit.
Among the key elements is an air-conditioning panel with illuminated buttons, as well as a rotary controller for the volume of the sound system.
These point to plans by Volkswagen to replace the existing slider and touch controls of the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 and Chinese-market ID.6 SUV with more traditional analogue controls.
During the unveiling of the new concept in Germany overnight, Volkswagen officials were at pains to explain their ideas behind the new control layout, saying it is designed to make the ID.2all simple and self-explanatory to operate.
Together with the new control layout, Volkswagen also previewed a new menu structure for the touchscreen infotainment system on its latest concept car.
At the base of the dashboard is a central storage space housing two wireless (and magnetic) charging pads for smartphones, with a further two charging pads integrated into the back of the front seat headrests.
There are also USB-C sockets operating at 45 watts throughout the new hatchback, as well as a 230-volt socket to enable the charging of laptops and other devices.
Added practicality is provided by a front passenger seat backrest that can be folded forward. In combination with the 60:40 split-folding rear seats, and the boot, this gives the ID.2all a load length of up to 2.2 metres.
Nominal boot capacity is put at 440 litres – some 55 litres more than the ID.3 and a significant 145 litres more than the petrol Polo – extending to 1330mm when the rear seat is folded.
Included is a 50-litre compartment underneath the boot floor, which is designed to store the charging cable, and can be locked.
Hinting at optional equipment and driver-assistance systems planned for the production version of the ID.2all, Volkswagen says it will be available with a panoramic glass roof, electric front seats with a massage function, and matrix LED headlights.
There is also set to be the latest versions of the company’s Park Assist Plus and Travel Assist systems – the latter the semi-automated function offering limited hands-off driving capability in traffic jams.
The upcoming production version of the ID.2all is among 10 electric models planned to be launched by Volkswagen by 2026.
Included is the recently-unveiled facelifted ID.3, a long-wheelbase version of the ID. Buzz people mover and van, and a production version of the ID.7 sedan – all three planned to be unveiled by the end of 2023.
During the unveiling of the new concept, Schaefer confirmed Volkswagen has given the go-ahead for a new compact electric SUV model that is planned for launch in 2026.
He also revealed Volkswagen is also developing an even smaller and more affordable electric model with a targeted price of less than €20,000, or $AU32,000 on today’s exchange rate.
The post Volkswagen ID.2all concept previews upcoming $40,000 electric car appeared first on Drive.