- The Volkswagen Group is set to add to the increasingly large list of cheap electric cars available across the market, bringing the possibility of EV adoption to an ever wider audience of drivers.
- At this month’s IAA Mobility, Volkswagen confirmed the addition of four new electric cars to the small and compact car segments, joining the market from 2026.
- With other brands within the Volkswagen Group also set to release more affordable EVs, will this help the group fend off increasingly cheap EV competition from firms such as BYD?
More affordable EVs from the Volkswagen Group are on the way
The new, more affordable range of Volkswagen EVs will kick off with the ID. Polo and ID. Polo GTI, both arriving in 2026. The ID. Polo is predicted to start from under €25,000, whilst the ID. Polo GTI will compete with a growing list of electric hot hatches, such as the Alpine A290 and Peugeot e-208 GTI. Following the ID. Polo duo will be the ID. T-Cross, arriving later in 2026. Finally, the affordable Volkswagen EV range will be topped off with the ID. EVERY1 – priced at €20,000 to compete with EVs like the BYD Dolphin Surf and the upcoming Renault Twingo EV.
These EVs are also set to have equivalents made under other Volkswagen Group brands such as Cupra, Skoda, and more. Next year, we can also expect the arrival of the Cupra Raval, which will be the segment equivalent to the ID. Polo. We can expect Skoda’s traditional affordability angle to also be utilised through these new EV platforms.
Creating affordable, entry-level EVs that can compete on price with rivals from countries such as China isn’t the only part of the Volkswagen Group strategy for enabling widespread EV adoption. For the Volkswagen brand in particular, it recently announced a new naming strategy for its EV range. In the future, gone will be numerical model names such as the ID.3 or ID.7. Instead, EVs will be named after their previous and existing petrol and diesel equivalents – starting with the upcoming ID. Polo, which was previously set to be called the ID.2. Volkswagen hopes that these model names, that carry decades of typically positive reputation, will encourage more to make the switch to electric.
