VW’s smallest EV revealed

Coming (quietly) to a town centre near you: the starter car for millions of millennials.

1 BUILT FOR THE TOWN

The ID1 will have a similar footprint to the 2020 e-Up it replaces, with a boxy five-door body meaning space inside but short overhangs for easy urban driving. Expect to see a few styling cues from the ID3 in the production version. A rugged Crozz version and e-Roomzz van have also been spotted on the drawing board.

2 SHRINK TO FIT

It will replace the newly launched e-Up, which was created by adapting the internalcombustion original. By contrast, the ID1 is pure battery-electric. VW engineers have used a form of the MEB architecture, which underpins the wave of electric VWs that began with the ID3. Two battery capacities are expected – most likely 24 and 36kWh – to allow a lower price in return for a shorter range.

3 MAKING THE BUSINESS CASE

VW had hoped to build a €10k EV – possibly with Suzuki – but that hasn’t worked out. VW is pressing on, confident in its electric strategy. In fact, its aim of selling a million EVs a year by 2025 has been brought forward to 2023. Boss Ralf Brandstätter says MEB-based cars can be 40 per cent cheaper to build than EVs based on conventional chassis.

4 GROWING FAMILY

The ID1 will be the smallest ID in an electric line-up built around seven main models. The next one up, the ID2, will be VW’s rival to the Renault Zoe and Peugeot e-208. A high-performance R version of the ID3 hatch is in the pipeline. The next ID production model is the ID4, based on the ID Crozz concept, expected towards the end of 2020.