Volkswagen ID.2all concept previews sub-$40,000 electric hatchback for 2025

Volkswagen has shown how it plans to make EVs affordable for the masses with the ID.2all prototype.

The compact five-door electric hatchback (it has hidden rear door handles) also previews the new design language to be used on future EVs from the German brand.

Volkswagen says it will bring a production version of the ID.2all to the European market in 2025 with a price less than €25,000 ($40,000).

“The ID. 2all shows where we want to take the brand,” says Volkswagen passenger cars CEO Thomas Schäfer. “We want to be close to the customer and offer top technology in combination with fantastic design. We are implementing the transformation at pace to bring electric mobility to the masses.”

The ID.2all is a big departure from Volkswagen’s existing ID products, which include the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 and ID.Buzz, each of which is coming to Australia.

Each of those uses a rear-drive layout – some are available with all-wheel drive, adding an electric motor to the front axle – whereas the ID.2all uses a single motor driving the front wheels. It rides on an evolution of the modular MEB architecture known as MEB Entry.

The motor makes 166kW and is claimed to accelerate the five-door hatch to 100km/h in less than seven seconds.

It will also deliver a WLTP range of up to 450km and be able to be charged from 10 to 80 percent in about 20 minutes.

Without a motor beneath the rear floor the ID.2all has a deep boot with 490 litres of space.

Volkswagen says the flat floor and EV optimised layout gives the compact hatchback as much cabin space as a Golf.

But its 4050mm length, 1812mm width and 1530mm height is more akin to a Polo or T-Cross.

Inside, the ID.2all has modern materials and finishes as well as some fun elements, including ambient lighting and the play and pause symbols on the pedals.

A digital instrument cluster is joined by a larger central infotainment screen controlled by a circular dial. But the overall interior presentation is minimalist.

It appears Volkswagen is also taking software more seriously, with the head of sales, marketing and aftersales, Imelda Labbé, promising “outstanding software and digital services with genuine added value”.

There’s also generous storage, including a binnacle beneath the floating centre console.

The clean exterior design features Golf-inspired elements, such as the shape of the pillar around the rear window. The strip of LED lights across the tail is reminiscent of the Polo. And trapezoidal elements in the lower bumper look like those that surround exhaust pipes.

The ID.2all clearly has design influence from the existing Volkswagen Polo and Golf. In that respect it brings the new EV range closer to the mainstream

Overseas reports are also suggesting the ID.2all may adopt one of those long running Volkswagen nameplates.

But the big news with the ID.2all is the price, something that is not known yet.

Volkswagen says it is targeting the production version to come in below €25,000 and that it will “as inexpensive as a Polo”.

Given Polos are priced between $25,750 and $39,250 before on-road costs, it’s a tantalising prospect. That said, we’d expect it to be closer to $40,000 than $30,000.