Volkswagen ID.2 in the pipeline

A pint-sized electric Volkswagen ID.2 crossover looks set to become VW’s most affordable EV, tipped to start from less than $30,000 when it launches overseas in the next few years.

Separate reports out of Europe from Automotive News and AutoExpress, the latter publishing images that provide the best look yet at the small SUV, suggest the Volkswagen ID.2 will be built by SEAT in Spain on a new ‘MEB-Lite’ version of the German auto giant’s Modular Electric Drive Matrix platform that underpins the ID.3 and ID.4.

This intel builds on comments from Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess, who said in March at the company’s annual media conference that the company will launch an entry-level platform for EVs in 2025, “which is derived from the MEB”.

He said the plan was to use its production facilities in Spain to produce various EVs for the broader Volkswagen Group, with the smaller vehicles not planned until mid-decade given they belong in cost-sensitive segments.

By then, VW is expecting battery cell technology to have made “significantly more progress” that will enable it to offer new EVs in entry-level segments, starting with the ID.2 that will be no bigger than the current Volkswagen T-Cross.

This includes the adoption of lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) technology, which Volkswagen’s head of battery tech Frank Blome has described as “very promising for vehicles with short range” as they can withstand many charging cycles.

Reports suggest the ID.2 will start from less than €19,000 – around the $A30,000 mark – for the base-level 30kWh battery pack that delivers a 190km range, while a larger 45kWh option should offer 290km between charges.

The latest images show the ID.2 bearing similar styling cues to other members of the ID family, including the Golf-sized Volkswagen ID.3 that is not expected to go on sale in Australia until 2023.

Features include a largely closed-off front-end, along with chunky two-tone wheels and a silver roof, while the rear-end features the same blacked-out boot lid we’ve seen before, broken up by a full-width LED light bar.

With short overhangs at either end, the rounded-off baby SUV also shares the ID family’s flush-mounted exterior door handles and slim headlights.

Despite Volkswagen’s ambitious electrification targets, including its latest announcement that EVs would account for half of its global sales by 2030, the German brand is still yet to offer an electric vehicle in Australia.