Volkswagen has just given the details of its ID. 2 with a base price of € 25 000; now it seems that it is planning an even smaller and, more importantly, cheaper car, the ID.1, starting at under € 20 000 and coming in 2027.

The German specialized car magazine Automobilwoche spoke to VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer on the sidelines of the ID.2 premiere last week. “The ID.1 should come as early as 2026, 2027, not at the end of the decade,” the manager says. He added that despite high battery costs, Volkswagen was already working on a concept for offering an EV in that price range.

Possible cooperation

“That’s the next challenge., and we are working on that,” Schäfer added. However, the base price of less than € 20 000 seems to be one of the only development goals already set. VW is still examining several options for such a small EV, including (at least officially) a joint platform with another manufacturer. But Schäfer seems to think that Volkswagen is able to do it on its own.

If this cooperation on a platform with another manufacturer is still possible, the ID.1 would eventually not sit on the MEB Entry platform on which the ID.2 is built. And while the production location for the series version of the ID.2 has already been made public, Seat’s Martorell plant, Schäfer says the ID.1 could be built outside of Europe.

Battery puzzle

Schäfer did not give any further technical details; probably, there aren’t many at this given point in time. The ID.2 already shows how difficult VW’s goal is. In the beginning, the ID.2 was also aimed at a starting price of € 20 000.

The technical data mentioned on the sideline of ID.2’s presentation in Hamburg (e.g., 450 kilometers WLTP range and a charging time from 10 to 80% in about 20 minutes) are most probably not valid for the variant available for around € 25 000. It would require a battery of around 60 kWh and constant 120 kW charging power.

VW did not confirm the figures, but the larger battery variant will allegedly use NMC cell technology (Nickel Manganese Cobalt). On the contrary, the € 25 000 base model will most probably be equipped with an unspecified and cheaper LFP battery (Lithium Iron Phosphate). The energy content of that one is speculated to be around 40 kWh, but nothing is officially confirmed yet.

Given the even tighter budget, VW will likely use LFP battery cells for the potential ID.1 base model as well. Whether the battery will also have a capacity of around 40 kWh is not known. Just for perspective: VW’s smallest electric car to date, the e-Up, now has a 36,8 kWh battery, of which 32., kWh is usable. However, this is still using more expensive NMC cell chemistry.

ID.2 family: 100 000 per year per brand

Schäfer left many questions unanswered about ID.1 in his talk with Automobilwoche but did go into specifics concerning the ID.2 family. For example, the Cupra Raval (probably the production name for the UrbanRebel concept) will be launched shortly before the ID.2. Both models will be built in Martorell, Spain. For a long time, a Skoda derivative was also expected, but that will come in a slightly different form.

The upcoming Skoda EV won’t be a small hatchback like the ID.2 and Raval, but a small electric SUV. As a result, the Skoda will be built at VW’s Pamplona plant in Spain, along with the SUV version of the ID.2., probably named ID.2 X. All four EVs built in Spain could be equipped with battery cells from the VW Group’s Spanish battery factory for which the groundbreaking ceremony took place last week. The electric motors for all models will come from Hungary.

Surprisingly, Schäfer also talked about potential sales targets for the four models. “At least 100 000 units per year of each of the four models should be enough to be profitable,” the VW brand boss said. He did not specify by when these 400 000 vehicles per year should be achieved.