Unlike Renault's R5, assembled in Douai, France, Volkswagen will not be supporting its local economy with its electric car costing less than €25,000. The future city car, derived from the ID.EVERY1 concept, just presented in Düsseldorf, Germany, will launch production at the Palmela site, very close to Setúbal, south of Lisbon. This will give it direct access to the ocean and a factory capable of high-speed production, as it has built more than 231,000 T-Rocs since its launch. According to figures dating back to December 2022, there were 4,980 employees on site.
The awarding of the Portuguese factory for Volkswagen's future electric car costing less than €25,000 was announced by Thomas Schäfer, head of the Volkswagen brand, during a meeting with journalists in Wolfsburg. This was a way for him to further solidify the arrival of the model, on the eve of the publication of the group's annual financial results. Without relying on Germany for production, Volkswagen runs the risk of its image taking a hit, but will also allow it to cut corners and thus offer a city car that meets its price target.
Production coming very late
However, Portuguese employees won't see the electric city car anytime soon. It's not expected until 2027, and an ID.2 is expected to arrive earlier, a higher price and size. Volkswagen is clearly not ahead of the competition, and this delay will cost it dearly, as the brand has announced the elimination of 35,000 jobs by the end of December 2024. The group is still counting on a plan that will allow it to achieve savings of $4.2 billion per year, "in the medium term," and job cuts are planned until 2030.
Despite its arrival in 2027, the future ID.1 is likely to be based on the same platform as the ID.3, released in 2019, the MEB platform. On the other hand, it will have a new, smaller engine, which should give it a power of 70 kW, or around 95 hp. In a half-hearted way, the Volkswagen boss acknowledged the importance (and the notable absence) of this small city car in its range. "The ID. Every1 is the last element we were missing to offer the widest range of electric models. We offer each customer the car and the drive system adapted to their needs, including 100% electric entry-level mobility at an affordable price."
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