At this hour, the suspense still lingers. But there is little left to know the new concept which will form the basis of the ID.2, to be unveiled this Wednesday night, after the prototype resembling a crossover that Volkswagen took to Munich in 2021 under the name ID.Life. But there are already many details that are known, starting with the fact that the possibility of displaying the ID.Golf designation remains on the table.
During Volkswagen’s annual press conference, which took place on Tuesday, the brand’s CEO, Thomas Schäfer, confirmed the name of the concept: ID.2all, a pun on the expression “for all”, in a kind of return to basics (after all, Volkswagen means “people’s car”) by creating a model with the purpose of reaching the mass market.
However, in the past, Schäfer had already exalted, in a interview with auto expressthe fact that “the Golf designation has enormous value”, implying that it does not intend to erase the name from the emblem’s portfolio.
During the 2022 balance sheet reveal, Volkswagen said that the production version of the ID.2all will be one of the next ten electric cars that will be launched by 2026. The new model is described as “a practical preview of the first electric VW for everyone”, with a focus on affordability. The ID.2all is the idea of a compact tram for less than 25,000 euros.
Built on the MEB Entry platform, which is based on the one supporting the well-known ID.3 and ID.4, but adapted for smaller cars (in addition to the upcoming VW electric car, it will be the basis for models in the same segment as the Cupra or from Skoda), the idea is that the ID.2 (or ID.Golf) bridges the gap between the ID.1 utility and the ID.3.
What also quickly became public is that VW changed the ID.Life’s square shapes for a look closer to a conventional one. hatchback, coming out of the design lines of Andreas Mindt, who, before VW, went through the offices of Audi and Bentley. The future ID.2 will be assembled in Martorell, which suggests that it will be technically very similar to the Cupra UrbanRebel, also produced in the Catalan factory.
The dimensions will be within the compact segment, between 4 and 4.3 meters in length, but the habitability will be unobtrusive, thanks to the platform designed for trams, which allows the creation of a flat floor and a bonnet shorter. That is, despite being smaller than the Golf, the ID.2 will be able to offer five seats and similar space.
In terms of powertrains, the offer will probably be as simple as possible, even to control production costs and, very importantly, limit the weight of the car, but it is not ruled out, according to busthe hypothesis of a GTI version, recovering the myth surrounding the Golf version launched in 1976.
The revelation of ID.2all comes a day after VW reported on financial results for the 2022 fiscal year, reporting “operating profit before extraordinary effects of 2.6 billion euros”, something achieved, he says, “ thanks to effective sales management and rigorous cost optimization”, even though the company suffered from supply restrictions and the consequent lower delivery volumes, especially in the second half of the year.
The future, he added, involves “accelerating the transition to electric mobility even further”. Everything so that, by 2030, eight out of ten cars sold in Europe will be 100% electric.
The goal set will have as allies ten new BEV models by 2026, four of which will arrive soon: the second generation ID.3, the sporty ID.3 GTX, the ID. Seven-seat Buzz and the Passat-inspired ID.7. “Customers can expect a full range of Volkswagen”declared Thomas Schäfer.
Its implementation will go through a five-year investment plan of 180 billion euros, aimed at developing software and transform the brand into a hub electricity, with the creation of six battery factories in Europe. At the same time, says the brand, “the transformation in production at Volkswagen is progressing at an accelerated pace”, with the transformation of factories for the production of trams. The ID.7 and ID.4 are being produced in Emden, Germany, and from next autumn the new generation of the ID.3 will be produced on the assembly line in Wolfsburg.
The company will invest around €460 million in transforming its main plant by early 2025. The Zwickau and Dresden plants have meanwhile been fully converted, and production of the ID.4 already started last year in Chattanooga, In the USA.