Volkswagen is aiming for its new low-cost electric vehicles to debut in 2027. The new affordable VW EVs are expected to be priced around $21,800 (20,000 euros).
VW said last week it was still looking at its options for affordable EVs. Meanwhile, after failing to find an agreement with VW, Renault still plans to launch a low-cost Twingo e-Tech successor, starting around the same price.
According to a new Reuters report, VW plans to unveil its new affordable EVs in 2027. Volkswagen still wants prices around $21,8000 (20,000 euros).
The German automaker revealed its ID 2all concept last March, a preview of the affordable EV’s design.
VW’s ID 2all electric car is “spacious like a Golf” but “Affordable like a Polo,” the company said. The entry-level EV is expected to start under $27,000 (25,000 euros), but VW is targeting an even lower-priced model, likely called the ID 1.
Based on a modified MEB platform, the ID 2all EV is expected to get up to 279 miles (450 km) range. The ID 1 will likely pull parts from the ID 2all with smaller battery options, like 38 or 58 kWh.
Volkswagen has also teased an ID 2all SUV (shown above). The entry-level electric SUV is expected to debut in 2026.
Electrek’s Take
Although Volkswagen is promising to reveal affordable EVs in 2026 or 2027, several low-cost options are already hitting the market.
For example, Volvo launched the EX30, starting at around 36,000 euros ($39,150) in Europe. Volvo’s cheapest EV starts at $35,000 in the US with deliveries expected to begin this summer.
It also officially launched in China last week. Starting at $27,800 (200,800 yuan), the Volvo EX30 will rival BYD’s low-cost EVs, like the Atto 3 and Dolphin.
GM’s new Chevy Equinox EV is now being delivered to customers in the US. Although the cheapest model currently starts at $43,295, GM is promising the entry-level Equinox 1LT FWD version will be available to order this year for around $35,000.
With the tax credit, the current 2LT model starts at $35,795. Once the entry-level version hits the market, prices are expected to be as low as $27,495 (with the EV tax credit included).
Several other automakers, including Kia, have revealed new affordable EVs. Last week, Kia unveiled its EV3 with up to 600 km (372 mi) WLTP range. It will kick off a series of low-cost EVs, including the EV2, EV3, EV4, and EV5. Kia’s new EVs are expected to be priced around $30,000 to $50,000.
The Kia EV3 will launch in Korea in July 2024, ahead of a European rollout in the second half of the year. Kia announced plans to expand EV3 sales into other regions but did not mention the US specifically.
Next year, Kia is expected to launch the EV4, its take on an entry-level electric sedan, starting at around $35,000.
The South Korean automaker already launched the EV5 in China, with starting prices around $20,000 (149,800 yuan). However, in Australia, it will cost around $40,000 (70,000 AUS).
Meanwhile, Hyundai and Kia already have some of the most affordable EVs in the US market. The average IONIQ 6 selling price in the US was around $36,506 in the first quarter of 2024. The upgraded Hyundai Kona Electric starts at $32,675 while the IONIQ 5 starts at $41,800.
By 2027, an affordable Volkswagen EV may not seem so special, with several already hitting the market.
On the other hand, demand for lower-cost electric cars is expected to continue steadily rising. Can VW meet the demand? Or will they get washed out in a sea of competition? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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The all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ was an Electrek favorite when it first made its debut two years ago. Now, LYRIQ buyers who have been waiting for a deal can score more than $10,500 in discounts on the Ultium-based Caddy.
Our own Seth Weintraub said that GM had come in, “a year early and dollar long at $60K” when he first drove the Ultium-based Cadillac LYRIQ back in 2022. He called the SUV “a stunner,” too, heaping praise on the LYRIQ’s styling inside and out before adding that the EV’s ride quality really impressed on long journeys.
Well, if the first mainstream electric Cadillac was a winner at its original, $57,195 starting price (rounded up to $60K for easy math), what could we call it at $10,500 less?
That’s a question that’s suddenly worth asking, thanks to huge GM discounts on the LYRIQ that prompted the automotive pricing analysts at CarsDirect to name the 2024 LYRIQ one of the industry’s “Best New Car Deals” this month:
A slew of incentives can enable you to save big on a 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ. First, EVs eligible for the federal tax credit qualify for $7,500 in Ultium Promise Bonus Cash from GM. Additionally, competing EV owners can score $3,000 in conquest cash.
With more than 100 kWh of battery capacity and 300-plus miles of real-world driving range (plus available 190 kW charging capability) the Cadillac LYRIQ ticks all the boxes – but you don’t have to take just my word for that.
A global shortage of qualified operators is impacting job sites everywhere, precisely at a time when demand for housing, mineral mining, and renewable energy construction is going from peak to peak. That’s why companies from Caterpillar to Tesla to Einride are pushing to advance autonomy the way they are.
First revealed as a concept in 2021, Volvo CE’s CX01 autonomous “single drum” asphalt roller concept has seen continuous development in the years since. Making its Volvo Days debut, the CX01 has shed the original single drum design for a “split drum,” with each half being controlled by an internalized, independent electric motor.
The CX01’s electric motors not only help to propel and steer the roller, they also vibrate the drums individually, using some trick software calibration to effectively “cancel each other out,” delivering all the benefits of vibrating drum rollers without the noise.
It’s so smart, you guys
It’s also worth noting that the CX01 is something of an “extended range” EV, instead of a “pure” BEV. That’s because it uses a small, 1.4L diesel engine to spin a generator that powers not batteries, but capacitors (those blue things, above right). Those capacitors can be charged on grid power (or from an accompanying TC13 trench compactor), but they’re much better than batteries at releasing energy really quickly, enabling the diesel to operate at its maximum efficiency while maintaining extremely precise, high-torque movement from the motors.
Volvo CE engineers envision a team CX01 rollers units deployed on larger job sites that could work together and communicate with other pieces of equipment on the site. The connected equipment could help survey the job site, report on the conditions of the mat (density, temperature, and passes), and leverage AI to determine when and where to compact without the need for human operators.
All of which is great, sure – but they had me at “giant OneWheel.”
Volvo TA15 autonomous electric haul truck
Volvo TA15 autonomous haul truck; photo by the author.
Part of Volvo CE’ “TARA” line of autonomous products, the “production ready” TA15 autonomous electric haul trucks are already part of a number of pilot programs on Volvo customer job sites. Being autonomous, they’re ideally suited to performing repetitive routes, dozens of times per day, without exposing human operators to fatigue or injury.
“TARA enables you to downsize and replace larger diesel-powered vehicles with a fleet of autonomous electric Volvo TA15s capable of running 24/7,” reads the official TARA release. “This not only helps you cut emissions and increase productivity, it will also help you rightsize your machinery and optimize your hauling routes.”
And that brings us to the real topic at hand: sustainability.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo SD110 single drum roller, via Volvo CE.
As we’ve often discussed on The Heavy Equipment Podcast, there are two types of sustainability, and both are important. The first is the “classic” version of sustainability, in that our choices need to sustain the planet and environment we live in. The second is sustainability of the business – the ability to keep doing business in a way that ensures the survival of the business, itself.
Looking at the conventional Volvo SD110 conventional roller, above, you can see the incredible amount of materials – of steel, rubber, plastic, glass, etc. – that simply isn’t needed to produce the CX01 roller we started this article with.
All that added mass has a massive hidden carbon cost. The cost of getting those materials out of the ground, the need for bigger, heavier roads to support the weight of the machine, and the bigger, burlier trucks and trailers needed to transport it. Heck, even the operator’s commute to and from the job site adds to the carbon cost of the SD110, over and above the harmful emissions from its diesel engine’s exhaust stack.
The CX01? It’s objectively more sustainable than the SD110 roller in every way, and does pretty much the same job.
Following successful inbound implementations in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina, and Mexico, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is expanding the reach of its electric semi fleet into Arizona with long-time associate JB Hunt.
JB Hunt will add the new Freightliner eCascadia electric semi to its Arizona fleet immediately, and put it to work delivering aftermarket truck parts from DTNA’s parts distribution center (PDC) in Phoenix to multiple DTNA dealers along a dedicated route.
The electric Freightliner truck is expected to cover approximately 100 miles in a given day before heading “home” to a Detroit eFill charger installed at Daimler’s Phoenix facility.
“This solution with DTNA is a great example of our commitment to supporting customers’ efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and work towards energy transition,” explains Greer Woodruff, executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance at JB Hunt. “JB Hunt owns and operates several eCascadias on behalf of customers, and our drivers have really enjoyed their in-cab experience. As customer interest continues to grow, we are here to enable their pursuit for a more sustainable supply chain in the most economic means possible.”
Daimler is analyzing future expansion opportunities throughout its internal parts distribution and logistics with an eye on electrifing additional routes and further reducing the carbon footprint of its logistics operations.