The electric future of Volkswagen has been laid bare thanks to a new concept called the ID.2all. VW’s current crop of ID-badged EVs are good, but not what you’d call affordable for the mass-market. That’s set to change with the ID.2.
At around £37,000, the ID.3 is currently the cheapest Volkswagen ID car so with a target of less than 25,000 euros (there’s hope of a sub-£20k price tag in the UK), the ID.2 will appeal to a much broader market. The ID.2 is VW’s first take on the MEB Entry project, a process that was originally announced in 2019 with the target of delivering EVs for less than 20,000 euros.
Volkswagen has announced it wants 80 per cent of its sales to be pure-electric by 2030 in Europe and over three million EVs produced at its Spanish plants up to that date. The ID.2 will play a huge role in reaching those targets.
When it arrives in 2025, the ID.2 will rival the likes of the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall’s Corsa Electric, plus the upcoming Renault 5 EV. Volkswagen will share its MEB Entry platform with Cupra and Skoda too with a small Skoda planned in 2025 alongside the production version of the Cupra Raval.
Volkswagen ID.2all concept: first look at interior and technology
We recently had a look around the ID.2all concept and its forward-thinking cabin. We expect much of the design and technology in the concept to make its way over to the ID.2 production car.
While the ID.2 is being pitched as a more affordable ID offering, it certainly didn’t feel like a budget offering to us. The pair of screens on the dash (a 10.9-inch screen for the driver and a 12.9-inch infotainment screen) have impressive configurability. You can choose between eras of Volkswagen cars as themes for the displays with a ‘Vintage’ Golf era designed to mimic the dash of an old Golf, a ‘Classic’ mode which apes the readouts of the original Beetle, and a ‘Modern’ mode to reflect the latest design thinking for the ID.2.
Volkswagen is backtracking somewhat on its decision to put more functionality into the central screen. On the ID.2all concept there are simple physical switches below the central display for front-occupant temperature adjustment and heated seat controls – and there’s a rotating knob to raise and lower the volume. These items mark a significant departure from the poorly received touch-sensitive, multi-function panel in the current ID. line-up. The steering wheel also does away with touch sliders; they’re replaced by rotating thumbwheels and just four regular buttons. And in another small but significant move away from the ID.3’s interface, there are four electric-window controls for the driver – instead of just a pair and a front/rear selector.
The gear selector has been moved to a stalk mounted on the steering column – again, a simpler solution than the ID.3’s dash-integrated rocker switch – while between the front seats, there’s a dial controller that’s said to be for switching between the car’s drive modes.
Need to sell your car?
Find your best offer from over 5,000+ dealers. It’s that easy.
The boot capacity is 440 litres – nearly 60 litres up on the ID.3, and more than 100 litres larger than many Polos – rising to 1,330 litres when the rear seats are folded down. The boot floor has an adjustable height and there’s also a novel 50-litre storage area beneath the second row; VW says while this lockable compartment has been conceived to house the charging cables, it could also be ideal for items like laptops, allowing them to be charged while they are stored.
Volkswagen ID.2all concept: platform and powertrain
The MEB Entry project is an offshoot from the MEB platform that delivered the likes of the VW ID.3 and Skoda’s Enyaq – but it’s designed from the outset to support smaller, cheaper vehicles. As such, it switches layout from rear- to front-wheel drive and makes use of the less complex torsion beam rear suspension design (without any need to package an electric motor) to boost practicality and keep a lid on costs.
The new concept is said to have been created in less than two months, under the guidance of VW’s latest design boss, Andreas Mindt, who only joined the brand earlier this year. The former Audi and Bentley man has created a much cleaner, simpler-looking vehicle than the futuristic, more visionary ID.Life, which was canned by VW’s latest brand boss Thomas Schäfer within days of him starting in the position.
Even though the ID.2all won’t go on sale for two more years, VW has taken the unusual step of confirming several of its key technical details. The concept’s single front-mounted motor produces 223bhp – enough, the firm says, for a 0-62mph time of around seven seconds. The battery pack will come in two sizes: 38 and 56kWh, but the chemistry involved is as yet unknown. VW says that it expects a WLTP range figure of around 280 miles for the larger pack, and that DC charging will take the battery pack from 10 to 80 per cent of its capacity in around 20 minutes thanks to a 125kW peak charging capacity. With two battery options, these figures will almost certainly relate to models fitted with the larger battery pack.
Volkswagen ID.2all concept: design
The front end and profile could easily pass for those of VW’s conventionally powered supermini, although there’s a single strong crease running along the flanks and the rear door handles are ‘hidden’ beyond the side windows. There’s also a fresh interpretation of the signature C-pillar from the Golf, too; this alone is a strong hint that the concept may not carry the ID. badge in production form. In contrast to many recent offerings, the ID.2all doesn’t make overt statements that it lacks a combustion engine.
Mindt describes the new concept as “an homage to the Beetle, Golf and Polo” that encompasses what VW calls its key values, stability and likeability. And sure enough, the ID.2all looks pretty detached from any of the ID. models that we’ve already seen – certainly much more conventional than the ID.3 hatchback. It’s 4,050mm long and has a wheelbase of 2,600mm – so a couple of centimetres shorter than the current Polo overall, but with five centimetres more between the front and rear axles.
VW is being open. about its fresh push into more affordable EVs. It says that within a year of the ID.2 all’s production launch, the new model will be joined by a similarly sized all-electric SUV, already previewed by the ID.2all SUV. And beyond these cars, it has also confirmed that it is working to deliver an even cheaper EV, with a proposed price of less than 20,000 euros. That’s believed to be a project, first detailed by Auto Express, that is being led by Skoda engineers – but it’s unlikely to bring vehicles to market until 2027 at the earliest.
Click here for our list of the best electric cars on sale right now…
