Volkswagen presents new low-price electric car

HAMBURG, Germany: German auto giant Volkswagen on Wednesday unveiled a new budget electric vehicle (EV), as the competition in the EV sector revs up.

The ID. 2all model, with frontwheel drive and a range of up to 450 kilometers (280 miles), will be priced under 25,000 euros ($26,300) when it hits the European market in 2025, the manufacturer said.

It is one of 10 new electric models the company plans to roll out by 2026 as it sharply boosts investment in electrification and digitization.

Volkswagen (VW) said the new models would give it “the widest range of electric vehicles compared with its competitors” with the aim “to achieve an electric car share of 80 percent in Europe.”

“We are implementing the transformation at pace to bring electric mobility to the masses,” VW Passenger Cars Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schaefer said in a statement.

Thomas Schmall, a member of VW’s board of directors, said the company was confident it could maintain the low price point through “economies of scale” achieved with high sales volume.

Volkswagen had said on Tuesday it would invest 122 billion euros in the shift toward EVs over the coming years.

“As early as 2025, every fifth vehicle sold worldwide is expected to be one with an all-electric drive,” the group said.

VW said “a major reason” for the spending increase was its push to build a series of battery factories as well as expenses linked to securing raw materials for batteries.