VW brand boss 'guarantees' small EV will be profitable

Thomas Schäfer has enjoyed a steady rise at the Volkswagen Group since joining Europe's largest automaker from Daimler in 2012. He was promoted to lead Skoda in 2020, and in April 2022 he was named chief operating officer of the VW brand. By July he was CEO. One of Schäfer's first moves was to commission a concept previewing VW's new entry electric car that he wants to cost less than 25,000 euros ($27,000). Unveiled in Hamburg, Germany, in March, the ID2all hatchback has design cues that connect it to popular VWs of the past as the brand works to bring its EV prices down to levels comparable with its combustion-driven cars. Schäfer took questions from Automotive New Europe Correspondent Nick Gibbs and other journalists following the unveiling of the ID2all concept. Separately, Schäfer spoke one-on-one with Frank Johannsen, a reporter at ANE sister publication Automobilwoche. Edited excerpts from both interviews are below.