VW's sketch for its entry-level electric car has SUV styling cues, a change from the boxy, retro look of the earlier ID Life concept.
The development of Volkswagen’s new Polo-sized small EV, along with derivatives for the Skoda and Cupra brands, is "well under way," VW Group CEO Herbert Diess said.
VW Group published teaser pictures of the three entry-level, full-electric cars on its Twitter account. It said the EVs will be built in Spain starting in 2025.
The pictures show cars that blend SUV design attributes with those of more conventional hatchbacks.
A sketch of Skoda's upcoming small EV.
Diess said the small EVs will be about 4 meters in length to match the size of Polo small hatchback and T-cross small SUV and would be profitable for the group.
"The challenge that big cars are more profitable than small cars remains, but now is the right time to come with the small cars by 2025," Diess told the Financial Times Future of the Car conference on Monday.
The retro styling of the ID Life concept unveiled at the 2021 Munich show has been scrapped for a sleeker look.
VW has previously said the cars will be sold at between 20,000 euros and 25,000 euros.
The sketch for the VW brand car shows a design that is sleeker than the ID Life concept revealed at the IAA Munich auto show in September.
The Munich show concept had a retro, boxy styling but it was received poorly so designers shifted their focus toward a more modern look to lure young customers who want an affordable, highly connected vehicle, Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche reported in March.
VW brand boss Ralf Brandstaetter wrote on Linkedin that the small car project was a "great example for the intensified cooperation between the volume brands within the Volkswagen Group."
VW brand's small EV likely will be launched as the ID2, joining the larger ID3, ID4, ID5 and ID Buzz battery-electric vehicles.
The small car EV platform will be based on a shorter version of VW Group's MEB electric platform and is being developed by Seat in Spain.
Cupra's version will be positioned below the brand's Born compact electric hatchback. Skoda's small EV will be about the size of the brand's Fabia small hatchachback.
Cupra's small EV, seen in a teaser sketch, will have desgin elements from UrbanRebel concept revealed at the 2021 Munich auto show.
Last week, Diess announced a 10-billion-euro investment in Spain to include a new battery gigafactory in Sagunto that will produce batteries for the small EVs to be manufactured at Seat’s plant in Martorell and at Volkswagen’s factory in Pamplona.
VW aims to start building the 40-gigawatt-hour plant in the first quarter of 2023, with series production scheduled to start by 2026.
