If Volkswagen had gone back on its plan to market a car for less than 20,000 euros, the manufacturer is finally confident and is preparing the launch of its future ID.1. This will be unveiled after the ID.2, which will be below the 25,000 euro mark.
Electric cars still cost more than their thermal counterparts, but that shouldn’t last. Indeed, the increase in demand should lower prices, especially for small models, which will instead opt for small batteries. Several manufacturers are already working on it.
An affordable car
We think of Ford, which wants to reduce the prices of its electric cars over the next few years, but also of Volkswagen. If the German firm does not want to engage in the price war with its current range, it does indeed want to offer more affordable electric cars. This is how it unveiled its ID.2all concept at the start of the year, which will lead to a production model by 2025.
This should display a price below 25,000 euros and will compete head-on with the future Renault 5 E-Tech, which will see the light of day in 2024. But the German firm does not intend to stop there and is also preparing an ID.1, which will cost less than 20,000 euros. Except that the manufacturer announced last May to finally abandon this strategy.
His boss Oliver Blume claimed indeed don’t want to go below this price, which suggested that the very affordable city car would not see the light of day. But things could change in the end, while Volkswagen is actually more confident about the future, as the brand’s chief financial officer, Arno Antlitz, explains to British journalists.Coach.
The latter asserts that the price of lithium has fallen, as has that of nickel, two elements found in electric car batteries. He confirms that ” from this point of view, we are completely convinced that we can hit that $25,000 goal while still having a decent margin“.
And the ID.1?
Because as Luca de Meo, the boss of Renault, reminded us a few months earlier, the battery sometimes represents 40% of the total price of an electric car. This is also why the manufacturer refuses to lower its prices, because that would cut into its margin. What Tesla does not hesitate to do. The CFO of Volkswagen explains that the battery will therefore be a decisive factor.
What about ID.1? Is it still current? If nothing has been confirmed yet, there is a good chance that this is the case. The manufacturer is indeed very confident and explains be able to achieve significant economies of scale. The secret ? Make volume. According to Arno Antlitz, the latter ” will help us lower prices to be competitive while still making money“.
And to sell a lot, you need an affordable small car, like the ID.1. Its arrival in the range is therefore entirely relevant and will help the brand to face increasingly fierce competition. Perhaps this will also allow it to gain market share from Tesla, while the German firm remains number 3 in electric car sales, just behind the Chinese giant BYD.
Volkswagen has great interest in marketing this ID.1 anyway, while the CEO of Renault also has plans for a car under 20,000 euros. The German city car will hunt on the lands of the Fiat 500 as well as the Mini Cooper SE, which will soon be offered a whole new generation. Ford also plans to launch its car under $25,000.
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