Volkswagen teases plan to tackle electric Chinese city cars

The Volkswagen Group has teased its most affordable electric vehicle (EV) yet ahead of its world premiere in 2027.

It’s targeting a price tag of €20,000 (~A$32,600) for the new model, which will see it slot in under the members of its upcoming sub-€25,000 (~A$40,800) ‘Electric Urban Car Family’.

The Volkswagen Group has released a single teaser of the vehicle, showing a hatchback silhouette with a stubby bonnet and a fairly upright roofline.

The company says the new vehicle “will set standards in the entry-level segment in terms of technology, design, quality and customer experience”.

Volkswagen has already offered an electric city car with the e-Up, which also spawned lightly restyled versions for SEAT and Skoda called the Mii Electric and Citigo-e iV, respectively.

These have all been discontinued, with the e-Up being the last man standing. Before its discontinuation in 2023, it had a base price of €29,995.

For context, the Polo range in Germany opens at €21,590 (~A$35,000).

The new city car should be better placed to fend off cut-price rivals like the BYD Seagull, which is due in Europe in 2025 and will have a base price of under €20,000. MG is also planning to enter the segment with its upcoming MG 2.

“Generations of people associate the strong brands of the Volkswagen Group with their first car – and with affordable mobility,” said Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume.

“As a group with strong brands, we continue to assume this social responsibility to this day. That’s why I’m very pleased that we’re launching a future-oriented project.

“It’s about entry-level electric mobility from Europe for Europe.

“In doing so, we combine a clear commitment to Europe as an industrial location, a European industrial policy and ultimately act in the interests of European customers.”

Reuters reports Volkswagen recently ended talks with Renault, which would have seen the German giant sell a version of the next-generation electric Twingo. The two companies are now going their separate ways on electric city car development.

The Volkswagen Group hasn’t confirmed which of its brands will offer a version of the new €20,000 electric city car.

Its sub-€25,000 electric urban cars will be sold across the Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra brands.

Volkswagen will have both a hatchback and an SUV, while Cupra will have a hatch (the Raval) and Skoda will have an SUV.

All four of these vehicles will be built in Spain.

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