Volkswagen promises a new electric “people’s car”

With several years of delay compared to its Asian competitors, Volkswagen will launch a city car priced at 20,000 euros in 2027.

The back-and-forth with Renault has lasted too long… and wasted time. While the French firm is rolling out electric innovations – Scenic, R5, Twingo in 2026 – Volkswagen is stagnating. It’s worth noting that the economic model for electric cars is still not clear in Germany, where tax incentives disappeared in 2024.

So much so that without this “breathing assistance,” electric vehicles are experiencing a sharp decline in sales in Germany, which dampens the enthusiasm of the Volkswagen group. Yet, the future is electric, whether in the short, medium, or long term. The climate urgency leaves no choice.

20,000 euros, not so affordable!

No one is really outraged, but a city car at 20,000 euros, electric or not, doesn’t excite the masses. This is a significant amount of money that a customer will be willing to pay only if the product creates an emotional connection. Renault Twingo and R5 have understood this well.

The visuals released by Volkswagen don’t reference anything particularly attractive, perhaps a sort of miniature ID.3. The CEO of the Volkswagen group, Oliver Blume, does not hold back on his expectations for this future electric model: “For generations, people have associated the strong brands of the Volkswagen group with their first car and affordable mobility. As a group of powerful brands, we continue to take on this social responsibility. That’s why I am very pleased to launch a forward-looking project. It’s about entry-level electric mobility, from Europe for Europe.”

Production is expected to take place in Spain, on shared production lines with Skoda and Cupra. But 2027 feels like an eternity. By then, competitors, especially from Europe… but notably from China, will have taken positions and will be even cheaper.

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