Volkswagen ID.1, ID.2 affordable electric cars nearing: reports

The Volkswagen ID electric car family looks set to spawn smaller, more affordable models, including the yet-to-be-confirmed ID.1 and ID.2.

To sit below the Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV already on sale overseas, European reports suggest the cheaper ID models are nearing.

Unnamed sources have suggested the ID.1 could replace the Up! city hatchback that was sold here from 2012 to 2014.

British publication Autocar is reporting it the target price is a few hundred pounds more than a Polo, suggesting something around $22,000 in Australia.

If the car arrived with a price tag anything close to that it could be an EV pioneer in competing directly on price with petrol-engined equivalents.

The larger ID.2 would be around the same size as the Polo, although it’s unclear whether it could replace Volkswagen’s entry-level hatchback or sell alongside it.

Helping make the compact Volkswagen EVs more affordable is lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology, according to Automotive News Europe. It is more affordable that lithium-ion battery tech currently favoured by EV manufacturers.

While none of the electric ID models have been confirmed for Australia, they are on the wish list of Volkswagen Australia, although the earliest one is likely to arrive – the ID.4 is believed to be the frontrunner – would be 2022.

Volkswagen is one of the pioneers of more affordable EVs, although in Australia the MG ZS EV is currently the most affordable electric car on sale; MG has big EV plans to expand its electric family by 2025.

Key to the expanding Volkswagen family is the MEB architecture underpinning them.

In announcing its “electric for all” strategy in 2018 Volkswagen described MEB as “a technological milestone, similar to the transition from the Beetle to the Golf”.

“We will make electric vehicles popular and get as many people as possible excited about electric cars,” said the board member for E-mobility Thomas Ulbrich at the time.

In Australia – as in many parts of the world – Volkswagen has covered its bases preparing for its electric future.

It has registered not only the already-confirmed ID.3 and ID.4 names but also ID.1, ID.2, ID.5, ID.6, ID.7, ID.8 and ID.9. Each was filed for trademark late in 2018 and is due to be accepted on December 16, 2020.

Not all names may end up being used (it’s common for car makers to register names just in case) but it gives options down the track.

Volkswagen has also trademarked IDA, ID.Light, ID.Buzz and ID.Neo.

The ID.Buzz name was applied to the electric Microbus concept that is set to become an EV version of the legendary Kombi.

ID.5 is expected to be an SUV with a sporty coupe-inspired Silhouette.