Volkswagen Rumored to Flood Segment With New Subcompact Crossover EV

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Nov 18, 2018

The Volkswagen I.D. onslaught is real, folks

Volkswagen’s I.D. lineup of electric vehicles keeps growing. The German automaker has already greenlit production versions of the I.D., I.D. Buzz, I.D. Crozz, and I.D. Vizzion concepts. Now, a new report indicates that Volkswagen isn’t done adding new models to the fold. A new subcompact crossover is under consideration for the all-electric I.D. range. The model is pegged as an entry-level vehicle that will cost a little over $21,000. If it gets approved, it could go on sale sometime after 2020.

It’s no secret that Volkswagen’s going all-in on its lineup of electric vehicles as it continues to bounce back from the Dieselgate scandal that all but crippled the company. What was once a fascinating case regarding electric car transportation has turned into a full-blown assault in the segment. That’s how VW rolls, apparently. And it doesn’t look like it’s done making moves.

The latest word on that front comes to us by way of Bloomberg. The on-to-spot news agency is reporting that Volkswagen is planning another electric vehicle, one that’s going to be cheaper than anything that it already has on the table. At the moment, the yet-to-be-identified subcompact, entry-level crossover carries a sticker price of around $21,000. If the model gets the green light for production, Volkswagen expects to sell 200,000 units of this particular model.

The inclusion of this model already bolsters an impressive lineup of electric vehicles that are covered under the I.D. sub-brand, joining the Vizzion sedan, Crozz crossover, Buzz minivan, and the I.D. Neo compact hatchback. The Neo is the first electric car to be produced under the I.D. sub-brand, with sales expected to begin sometime in 2020.

While that may be true in the sense of volume sales of electric vehicles, it’s hard to picture a $21,000 entry-level electric crossover competing against a car like the Tesla Model 3. They compete in different sub-segments and the price differences - a Model 3 could cost anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 — can’t be looked at as a legitimate source of comparison. If anything, the inclusion of this entry-level EV could position Volkswagen as a rival to Tesla in terms of overall sales. If VW can approach its estimate of selling 200,000 units of this model, that goes a long way in threatening Tesla’s current hold in the market. The Hyundai Kona EV, on the other hand, is a more realistic competitor to this unnamed VW electric crossover.

Volkswagen’s aggressive push to becoming a big player in the electric car business also isn’t without its dose of irony. The German automaker appears inclined to let everyone know that it’s turning over a new chapter in its life after the scandalous Dieselgate controversy that cost it billions in fines and penalties. That’s great on the surface, at least until you realize that these moves come from a company that once tried to cheat the system with its diesel emissions figures. It ended up getting caught, igniting a global scandal that the company is still reeling from to this day. But the industry has learned that VW is as prone to double-talk as any automaker in the world. It doesn’t help that the electric car industry still isn’t the most transparent segment in the business.

From my vantage point, all this walk of Volkswagen spending billions on all the technologies associated with electric cars — battery tech being the most important — is nice to hear. But until we see clear and concrete results, we’re not going to get our hopes up.

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