Is Volkswagen launching an affordable EV? At a conference Wednesday, the automaker’s CEO, Oliver Blume, said an electric car priced around $22,000 (20,000 euros) is possible by the latter part of the decade.
Blume explained that reducing battery costs will be the main driver in lower EV prices during a Berlin conference, as Reuters reported.
He pointed to advances in unified battery cells that VW claims will cut battery costs in half. Volkswagen unveiled the new battery cells during its Power Day in 2021. The company said the flexibility will enable use in up to 80% of all VW Group EV models.
The unified cells will be made at its factory in Salzgitter beginning in 2025. In the future, VW plans for the plant to reach 40 GWh annual capacity or enough for 500,000 vehicles.
“We have a responsibility to bring the right products at the right price onto the market,” Blume said Wednesday.
Volkswagen unveiled plans for its cheapest EV yet, the ID 2all concept, in March as it looks to compete with market leaders like Tesla and China’s BYD. The ID 2all will start at under 25,000 euros (roughly $27K), with up to 450 km (279 mi) range.
Volkswagen ID 2all electric vehicle concept (Source: Volkswagen)
Volkswagen plans an even cheaper $22K electric car
The production version of the ID 2all will be unveiled for Europe in 2025. It will be based on the MEB Entry platform as one of ten new models launching by 2026.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen revealed it was also working on an electric car priced under $22K (20,000 euros).
Volkswagen ID 2all electric vehicle concept (Source: Volkswagen)
The project, tipped to be called the ID 1, will be the smallest, most affordable VW electric model yet. According to Autocar, the electric car will be similar in size to the gas-powered Polo (it could also carry its name).
The Polo is 156″ long, 66″ wide, and about 58″ tall, so the new electric model will likely be in that range.
CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Thomas Shafer, previously said: “The Polo is very successful and one of our icons, and we’re going to use that vehicle concept in the future as well.”
The ID 1 will likely share parts with the ID 2all, including a choice between a 38 kWh or 58 kWh battery. For the price, VW could offer an even smaller battery.
Blume said at the conference Wednesday, “After early adopters were reached with electric cars, we now need consumers to be convinced by the technology, who don’t have the opportunity to install a charging station at home.”
Volkswagen detailed the ID 2all with fast charging capabilities (10%-80%) in 20 mins. The company has yet to provide further details on the model.
The news comes days after Reinhard Fischer, head of strategy at VW Group America, said the automaker aims to build an EV under $35,000 in the US or Mexico.
Several automakers are promising to release affordable electric cars. Stellantis-owned Citroen unveiled its C3 electric city car, starting at around $24,500 (23,300 euros). The company is calling it “The first European affordable electric car.” An even more affordable version will launch in 2025, priced around 19,990 euros ($21,000).
Renault’s subsidiary, Amphere, is also teasing an upcoming EV, the Legend, with starting prices under €20,000.
Electrek’s Take
Maybe an affordable Volkswagen electric car is coming after all. Then again, it could just be more talk as the automaker faces mounting pressure in the EV market.
Volkswagen halted EV production at two German plants last week after a series of output cuts over the past few months. The stoppage is impacting electric models, including the ID.4, ID.7, and Audi Q4 e-tron.
The company blamed a lack of electric motors as the reason. However, as CFO Arno Antilitz explained, following the company’s Q3 earnings, EV orders were down to 150,000. That’s 50% lower than last year’s total of 300,000.
Blume claimed rising inflation and the end of subsidies were holding back demand. Meanwhile, EV leaders, including Tesla and BYD, cutting prices has forced rivals to follow suit.
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With the launch of the first-ever Class 8 vocational EV in the North American market, PACCAR Kenworth is raising the battery-electric bar and underscoring just how far the market has come since the Tesla Semi made its debut nearly a decade ago.
When Tesla pulled the wraps off its all electric Semi truck all the way back in November of 2017, the rest of the industry was hardly thinking about BEVs. Nearly a decade later, the world is still waiting for the Semi to begin regular production, and PACCAR is launching its second generation of HDEVs with the debut of this, the all-new Kenworth T880E vocational truck.
“The Kenworth T880E marks a groundbreaking milestone in Kenworth’s history as we bring to market the first Class 8 battery-electric solution built for vocational applications,” explains Kevin Haygood, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “The T880E is engineered to meet the evolving needs of operators and vocational fleets while still providing the durability, reliability and customization our customers expect.”
The new electric K-whopper is motivated by PACCAR’s in-house ePowertrain platform, capable of putting up to 605 hp and 1,850 lb-ft of peak torque to work, while delivering the same levels of drivability and dependability fleets expect from a Kenworth – but power and torque are only part of the T880E’s work-ready résumé.
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Open to work
Kenworth T880E; via PACCAR.
In addition to a stout, Class 8 electric chassis fitted with heavy-duty Kenworth brakes and axles, the T880E’s central drive eMotor allows for significant wheelbase flexibility so fleet buyers can spec out exactly the machine they need to get the job done. The T880E was also designed to enable lift axle installations from trusted Kenworth upfitters for a vocational-friendly BEV integration.
Additionally, the T880E features a wide selection of factory-installed options that include both high- and low-voltage ePTO (electric Power Take Off) ports, mechanical ePTOs, and the same wide array of body configurations as the ICE version.
Speaking of the ICE version, the electric T880E also can also be had in the same set-back front axle and set-forward front axle configurations with the same multi-piece hood construction. Inside the cab, the latest in driver-focused technology includes the Kenworth SmartWheel and a new 15″ DriverConnect digital touchscreen. Dash and vocational features like RAM Mounts and factory-installed PTO switches are available. The T880E is also offered with Kenworth ADAS packages for customers interested in DigitalVision Mirrors, Bendix Fusion, and Lane Keeping Assist.
It’s so big, you guys
Kenworth T880E; photo by the author.
The T880E was on static display at last week’s ACT Expo in Anaheim, California. Check with your local Kenworth dealer for availability.
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The tire-blistering SU7 Ultra has been the Xiaomi brand’s flagship super sedan since its launch, but a controversial software setting has limited the car to “just” 900 hp in regular driving – resulting in an outcry from owners who ponied up for the big boy numbers. With its latest software update, that missing 648 hp is back on tap!
The SU7 Ultra made waves throughout the performance car world when a bright yellow striped example lined up alongside a white quarter mile king, the 1,000+ hp Tesla Model S Plaid, and promptly smoked it.
That wasn’t all. A preproduction SU7 Ultra prototype lapped the legendary Nürburgring circuit in just 6 minutes and 46.874 seconds, firmly stamping the 1,500+ hp Xiaomi’s alphanumeric into the track’s record books with a time nearly fifteen seconds quicker than a Rimac Nevera or, on the ICE front, either a Corvette ZR1, Viper ACR, or Porsche 918 (take your pick).
It’s hardly any wonder, then, that the customers who signed up – in droves, too – were disappointed to learn that the SU7 they were allowed to buy had been neutered by the safety nannies to the tune of nearly 650 hp. (!)
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We’re so back
The outrage from SU7 Ultra owners was immediate. And, facing mounting pressure online and on social media, Xiaomi ultimately decided to withdraw the performance-limiting features while acknowledging the need for more transparent communication about future software updates they messed up, saying in a statement, “we appreciate the passionate feedback from our community and will ensure better transparency moving forward.”
So, rich people can rocket themselves down the road in 9 second hypercars again and all is right with the world. A happy ending – but one that sort of illuminates a fresh set challenges for automakers peddling “software-defined vehicles” to a market that still thinks of their cars as very much hardware defined products.
The new reality is playing out in real time now, and the Jeff Bezos-backed $20,000 electric compact pickup from Slate Auto is going the other way entirely – time will tell whether more, or less tech is the answer.
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Tesla (TSLA) has started offering reduced interest rates on the new Model Y in the US — this equates to a direct discount on the brand new vehicle that was supposed to spark Tesla’s demand back.
The automaker has announced “1.99% APR or $0 Due at Signing available for well-qualified buyers” on the new Model Y in the US for the first time:
This amounts to a direct discount worth a few thousand dollars. It is the first widely available discount on the new Model Y coming just weeks after the cheaper non-Launch Edition launched in the US.
These discounts and subsidized financing point to soft demand for the updated best-selling vehicle in the US. Tesla just delivered a disastrous first quarter, which it mostly blamed on the Model Y changeover, resulting in lower inventory.
However, industry watchers, including Electrek, noted many signs that the Model Y changeover was not the only issue. Tesla added significantly to its inventory in the first quarter, and the wait times for the new Model Y were extremely short.
Now, the discount weeks after launching the new Model Y confirm the soft demand in the US.
I think it’s clear by now: the new Model Y is not coming to save Tesla.
Let’s be honest: It will still be a significant vehicle program by volume. It just won’t help Tesla return to growth this year.
The RWD Model Y is still coming and has a chance to help in the US. It is already available in China, and it’s not helping Tesla much there, but that’s in a hyper-competitive market, especially at lower prices where the RWD Model Y operates.
Tesla’s performance in Q2 in China will be interesting since it is basically back to its regular lineup for the whole quarter.
The US appears to have been Tesla’s least affected market, but Q3 will be the real test with the full lineup and no backlog of demand for new Model Y.
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