SHERIDAN, WYOMING – Feb. 5, 2025 – At today’s works meeting in Wolfsburg, Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, presented plans for the future of the core brand, including a first look at the design of Volkswagen’s future entry-level electric model, priced around €20,000. “With the conclusion of negotiations in December, we set the largest future plan in Volkswagen’s history in motion. We are pursuing an ambitious path to ensure we achieve our shared goals with full commitment. A key step in this is making e-mobility attractive for everyone – that is our brand promise,” said Schäfer. He also emphasized Wolfsburg’s continued role as a center for innovation and production competence, stating the main plant will set new standards in automobile production.
Entry-Level Electric Model: A Key Step in Volkswagen’s Future
Volkswagen plans to unveil the show car for this new entry-level model in early March, with the production model slated for a 2027 launch. With a target base price of approximately €20,000, this vehicle aims to broaden the appeal of electric vehicles. Schäfer commented, “An affordable, high-quality, and profitable electric Volkswagen from Europe for Europe – that's the Champions League of automotive engineering!”
Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG, shared her perspective: “The new all-electric entry-level model will be a Volkswagen in the genuine sense of the term. It is therefore appropriate that our employees at the Wolfsburg plant will be the first to have a preview of the design – before the general public.”
Expanding the Electric Small Car Family
This new electric model, alongside the production version of the ID. 2all, forms part of the new electric small car family developed under the Brand Group Core within the Volkswagen Group. This family comprises compact electric vehicles built on the next evolutionary stage of the modular electric drive (MEB) platform. The ID. 2all show car’s production version is expected to reach dealerships in 2026 as Volkswagen’s first all-electric small car, with a base price under €25,000.
Volkswagen’s Strong Position in the BEV Market
Volkswagen has established a strong presence in the all-electric battery electric vehicle (BEV) market. Since the ID. product family’s launch in 2019, the brand has sold over 1.35 million ID. vehicles globally, including about 500,000 ID.3 vehicles. In the past year alone, Volkswagen sold 383,100 all-electric vehicles.
Wolfsburg Plant: The Heart of Volkswagen’s Electric Future
Schäfer reaffirmed the Wolfsburg plant’s central role in Volkswagen’s electric future: “The Wolfsburg plant has a clear future ahead. By relocating Golf production to Mexico, we are creating space for modern technologies. New production processes will be introduced in Hall 54. Our goal is to build the next-generation electric Golf on the new SSP platform there, along with the high-volume electric T-Roc. This will establish Wolfsburg as the capital of our new all-electric compact class.”
The Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) represents the next generation of all-electric, fully digitalized, and highly scalable mechatronics platforms, built on a uniform system architecture.
Cavallo added, “Wolfsburg, the heart of the Group world, will face crucial tasks that we will need to tackle with determination. Technical Development will be performing pioneering work for all the other passenger car brands with the SSP platform, which will be used throughout the Group. This lever will be just as important for our future success as our platform strategy for our current ICE models. At our main plant, we will not only be working on development but also producing strongly over the next few years. The future electric flagships – the Golf and the T-Roc produced in Wolfsburg – currently represent a volume in excess of 500,000 units per year. The main plant has therefore secured a highly attractive vehicle segment and will be continuing the tradition of the Golf from Wolfsburg, which has a history of more than 50 years. It will now be crucial to work consistently on the preparations required for success in the years to come. Volkswagen must set the course in terms of complexity, work procedures and synergy effects. The Works Council and top management will cooperate closely on these developments. Our cooperation will include a joint progress meeting every quarter.”
Volkswagen’s “Triple A” Plan: Accelerate, Attack, Achieve
With the “Zukunft Volkswagen“ (Future Volkswagen) agreement, Volkswagen AG and employee representatives outlined a vision for the future, combining economic stability, employment, and technology leadership in sustainable mobility. The agreement establishes binding targets and measures to achieve them. The shared goal is for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand to become the leading volume manufacturer globally by 2030.
Volkswagen’s ambitious three-stage plan includes:
- Catch Up: Strengthening competitiveness by optimizing cost structures and expanding the existing model portfolio.
- Attack: Launching nine new models by 2027, including the ID.2all production version for under €25,000 and the entry-level electric car for around €20,000.
- Lead: Setting new standards as the technological leader in the volume segment and driving global mobility.