As Volkswagen begins Europen deliveries of the ID.3—the first of a family of electric cars based on its modular MEB platform—the automaker may be planning a smaller model based on the same platform, according to a new report.
Potentially the smallest of the ID family of vehicles, the VW ID.1, will go on sale in Europe in 2023, reports Car magazine.
The ID.1 will be a de facto replacement for the VW e-Up, and will have a similar-sized footprint to that model, according to the report.
We thoroughly enjoyed the e-Up when we drove it in Germany in 2014, but the car's small size ruled out U.S. sales.
That will likely be the case with the ID.1 as well. The model will likely show the smallest size and cost potential of the MEB platform, but will likely be too small for the U.S.
In Europe, the ID.1 is expected to start under $22,000, according to Car. Two battery-pack sizes will be offered—24 kilowatt hours and 36 kwh—limiting range but allowing VW to hit that price target, the magazine reported.
VW MEB platform
That's a similar strategy to the ID.1's likely competitors, which include the Honda E, Mini Cooper SE, and an upcoming redesign of the Fiat 500e.
VW hasn't confirmed plans for the ID.1, but starting with ID.3 has left room in the lineup for smaller (and perhaps cheaper) electric models. The automaker has not only trademarked ID.1 but also ID.2 and all variations up to ID.9.
It's unclear if the U.S. will get anything smaller than the ID.4 crossover, however.
Similar in size to the ID.3, but with a taller crossover body, the ID.4 will go on sale in Europe later this year. U.S. sales should follow shortly after that.
The first ID.4 crossovers sold in the U.S. will be sourced from Zwickau, Germany, but VW plans to begin building the ID.4 at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory beginning in 2022.
VW has said it plans to launch 27 MEB-based electric cars—not all for the U.S.—by 2022.
