Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen wants to sell over a million electric cars per year by about 2025, and many of those will be in Europe. And this could actually mean the end of one of the oldest nameplates of theGerman automaker, the Polo.
Volkswagen started making the Polo in 1975, so it's about as old as the Golf. While America never enjoyed its subcompact cars, the model has been quite popular in Europe, usually among the Top 10 best-sellers. But market conditions are changing, and EVs make more sense in the urban environment.
According to a new report from Automotive News Europe, two new electric cars are currently under development, designed to be more affordable. An anonymous insider source claims the ID.1 and ID.2 will cust costs by using a lithium-iron-phosphate battery.
We already knew about the ID.1, which is supposed to replace the Up! city car. However, the story claims the ID.2 subcompact is further along in its development and could come out as early as 2023, costing from €20,000, which is equivalent to around $24,000. With discounts and incentives, it should be quite an enticing buy.
The ID.2 would have similar features to the larger ID.3, so it will strike people as something new and exciting. It won't be as slow as early EVs like the Renault Zoe and practicality should suffer too much either. But where does that leave the Polo?
It's likely that Volkswagen will eventually phase it out, just like the European Passat sedan. The Peugeot 208, which is a rival to the Polo, is now offered both as an EV and with normal engines. But we're seeing more and more powertrains being pulled from cars. Peugeot 208 GTi and 308 GTi? Gone, and so should the Polo GTI (pictured above) pretty soon.
Volkswagen is slapped over the wrist pretty hard for the cars which aren't super-frugal and seems to be passing on the losses to the customer. What would the average consumer want, a Polo GTI with €2,000 added for emissions or a 200 horsepower ID model with a huge government incentive? Exactly.
According to a new report from Automotive News Europe, two new electric cars are currently under development, designed to be more affordable. An anonymous insider source claims the ID.1 and ID.2 will cust costs by using a lithium-iron-phosphate battery.
We already knew about the ID.1, which is supposed to replace the Up! city car. However, the story claims the ID.2 subcompact is further along in its development and could come out as early as 2023, costing from €20,000, which is equivalent to around $24,000. With discounts and incentives, it should be quite an enticing buy.
The ID.2 would have similar features to the larger ID.3, so it will strike people as something new and exciting. It won't be as slow as early EVs like the Renault Zoe and practicality should suffer too much either. But where does that leave the Polo?
It's likely that Volkswagen will eventually phase it out, just like the European Passat sedan. The Peugeot 208, which is a rival to the Polo, is now offered both as an EV and with normal engines. But we're seeing more and more powertrains being pulled from cars. Peugeot 208 GTi and 308 GTi? Gone, and so should the Polo GTI (pictured above) pretty soon.
Volkswagen is slapped over the wrist pretty hard for the cars which aren't super-frugal and seems to be passing on the losses to the customer. What would the average consumer want, a Polo GTI with €2,000 added for emissions or a 200 horsepower ID model with a huge government incentive? Exactly.
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