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Volkswagen Considering Small EV, Would Cost “About 18,000 Euros”

The I.D. Neo is confirmed to start production towards the end of 2019 at the Zwickau plant in Germany. But Volkswagen has a lot more coming, confirming that the Modularer Elektrobaukasten would welcome 27 models across four brands by the end of 2022. In other words, group members Audi, Skoda, and SEAT will use MEB for their own EVs in the coming years.
Volkswagen I.D. Concept 21 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
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Turning our attention back to the I.D. family of electric vehicles, a crossover and minivan are also in the pipeline, and Volkswagen will sell MEB models all across the world. The joint venture between SAIC and Volkswagen, for example, announced that the first factory specifically designed for MEB production would go online in 2020 in Anting, Shanghai.

According to Bloomberg, the Modularer Elektrobaukasten would also be used for “a subcompact crossover costing about 18,000 euros” that would be marketed under the I.D. nomenclature. The publication cites “people familiar with the matter,” and sales could start “sometime after 2020.”

Production is understood to be taken care of by the Emden factory in Germany, and Volkswagen could sell up to 200,000 examples per year if everything goes according to plan. But on the other hand, the people who informed Bloomberg about the e-crossover also mentioned that “the plan hasn’t received final approval by the manufacturer’s supervisory board.”

For some reason or other, Bloomberg chose to compare Volkswagen with Tesla from the standpoint of production output. That might be perfectly fine at first glance, but don’t forget how different the two automakers are in all aspects. On the one hand, Volkswagen will make EVs even more affordable than Tesla. And on the other, Volkswagen has more production facilities than the Palo Alto-based automaker, enabling a shorter roll-out period.

There’s also the matter of complexity, with Volkswagen believed to be able to produce the I.D. Neo “in roughly half the time needed to assemble the Golf hatchback.” Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget that Volkswagen is open to sharing the MEB platform with Ford, spelling more trouble for Tesla.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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