Volkswagen ID 2 EV global debut tipped for March 15

Volkswagen ID 2 will be brand’s first EV to sit on the MEB-Plus platform.

Published On Mar 12, 2023 08:30:00 AM

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Volkswagen ID Crozz Concept front tracking

Volkswagen ID Crozz Concept used for representational purposes

Volkswagen is expected to reveal its ID 2 urban electric car on March 15 in an event where the brand will detail its new design language and future plans. The long-awaited EV has been completely redesigned inside and out, and the event’s social media tag (#VWforthepeople) suggests Volkswagen is now ready to show the revised mass-market hatchback.

Volkswagen ID 2 EV is scheduled to go on sale in 2025
ID 2 is expected to have similar cabin space as the Golf

Scheduled to go on sale in 2025 at a targeted base price of €22,500 (roughly Rs 19.55 lakh) in today’s money, the compact five-seater is being lined up to get the Golf name, Volkswagen insiders told our sister publication Autocar UK.

Volkswagen ID 2 EV: platform

Sources confirmed that the Volkswagen ID 2 will be the first VW based on the MEB-Plus platform – an updated version of today’s widely used MEB electric car structure that features new LFP (lithium iron phosphate) prismatic battery cells and charging speeds of up to 200kW, among other developments.

At this early stage, the ID 2 is set to be offered in a single-motor, front-wheel-drive form only. However, Volkswagen sources confirm the MEB-Plus platform will support dual-motor, four wheel-drive models and say such a configuration cannot be ruled out in the future.

“It will be relatively lightweight by electric car standards, somewhere between 1,600kg and 1,700kg,” Autocar UK quoted a source as saying. In a further significant move, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schafer has also given the nod for a return of the GTI badge. It is set to replace the GTX model name first introduced on the Volkswagen ID 4 in 2020, paving the way for the first fully electric Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Volkswagen ID EV: interior

Along with its new hatchback bodystyle, the reborn ID 2 also adopts a new-look interior with seating for up to five in a cabin claimed to offer similar space to today’s MQB platform-based Golf.

Additional changes centre on the MIB infotainment system. They include the provision for a rotary controller within a heavily revised centre console – a development that will initially appear on the third-generation Volkswagen Tiguan, which is due to be unveiled later this year.

The rotary controller, a first for a Volkswagen, is intended to supplement the touchscreen controls fitted to current Volkswagen models. It is designed to replace the slider mechanism first introduced on the ID 3 in 2020.

The sweeping changes made to the ID 2 are part of a “comprehensive reset” for the Volkswagen brand and its ID electric car strategy under Schäfer.

Also see:

Volkswagen ID 2 based EV SUV to get 4WD option

Volkswagen readies rugged EV SUV with Ford