Shortly after Volkswagen globally unveiled the ID.2all – its smallest electrical automobile – passenger car CEO Thomas Schafer, in dialog with Indian media, mentioned that the electrical hatchback holds good potential for India. He added that it can’t merely be a “transfer from Europe”, even when it is constructed right here.

1. VW plans to localise battery of the ID.2all
2. ID.2all to launch in India after 2026

At the disclosing of the ID.2all, VW promised that the car would retail for beneath €25,000 (Rs 22.2 lakh) and acknowledged {that a} car beneath €20,000 (Rs 17.7 lakh) would comply with. These costs, whereas engaging for the European market, would nonetheless be prohibitively excessive for India given the physique sort and dimension.

“For India, you probably have to localise deeper to get the cost further down, which is possible,” mentioned Schafer in response to a query from Autocar India. “We showed that on the MQB-A0 platform, so when the time arises – and we introduce an electric platform – that [localisation] will definitely also have to happen.”

With its India 2.0 program the VW group localised its MQB-A0 platform – referred to as the MQB-A0-IN – and introduced within the VW Virtus and Taigun and, beneath the Skoda model, the Slavia and Kushaq. With this, the group noticed a revival of its fortunes and an 86 % improve in gross sales final 12 months.

The program noticed a localisation degree of over 95 %, and the important thing to localisation of the EV would, nonetheless, be the localisation of the battery. Schafer acknowledged this saying, “The battery accounts for 40 percent of the value of the car. So if you produce the cells, then the game is on.”

VW ID.2all India launch some time away

So whereas the electrical hatch is on the model’s radar for India, it can nonetheless take some time, with Schafer stating that any plans to launch it right here would “not be before we put the car on the road here [Europe].” For now, the car is scheduled to launch in Europe by the top of 2025 or early 2026, so there may be nonetheless time earlier than India will get a style of what would basically be the electrical equal of the Polo.

Small electrical SUV

Beyond the hatch, what can also be attention-grabbing is the plan for a small electrical SUV on the identical platform, with Schafer stating that this could comply with the hatch, and would even be attention-grabbing for India. For now, VW is at present testing its ID.4 SUV in India, which, if greenlit would arrive as a CBU.

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