Don't Lose Sleep Waiting for Volkswagen's Super-cheap EV

As Volkswagen Group embarks on its quest to build and disseminate The People’s Propulsion across the globe, rumblings of an ultra-cheap electric car from the automaker have come into focus.

We began hearing of such a vehicle last year, when reports emerged that VW was planning an EV with an MSRP below 20,000 euros (roughly $22,400 USD). That’s below the expected price floor of even the lowliest MEB-platform I.D. model — the I.D. Neo, which starts production in Europe late this year.

Now, the automaker has revealed where it sees this vehicle fitting into VW Group’s vast lineup, and when it might appear.

Think low-end. VW’s Seat brand — the pride of Spain — will be that bargain basement greenie’s home when it rolls out, probably in 2023, claims the brand’s CEO.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Luca de Meo said Seat will carry the torch for cheap electrics in the European market, rolling out a slew of electrified models to battle the likes of Nissan and Renault in the low-cost green field. Joining those future models will be the new, cheapest EV, built atop a sub-MEB platform.

“We spent so many years trying to fix our things so we couldn’t afford to get into the hottest and most innovative areas,” de Meo said of Seat’s recent return to profitability. “Now, because we are not busy with a fire brigade emergency, we can actually look a little bit more on the horizon.”

Seat will lead the new EV architecture’s development, apparently, with other VW Group brands adopting it for their own low-cost offerings. While we’re certainly not going to see a Seat offered in this market, a VW-badged model isn’t out of the question. A 21st-century green people’s car, perhaps — assuming the market looks sufficiently receptive to VW brass. Its appearance would only come after the North American market gets a taste of the automaker’s larger I.D. models, which include a crossover and a microbus.

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess wants Seat to take on more responsibility beneath the corporate umbrella. Diess told de Meo as much during a meeting last week.

“It’s a recognition that we can play a different role in the group,” de Meo said.

While fielding the cheapest EV on the market would be a coup for Seat (the Smart brand might pose a challenge to that boast), not everyone’s impressed by the plan.

Arndt Ellinghorst, head of global automotive research at Evercore ISI, told FT it would be “impossible to make money” on a model at that price point using today’s battery technology.

“In terms of innovating, it’s the right step,” he said. “But I would try to not lose too much money on it. They don’t have the pricing power of Audi or VW.”

[Image: Electrify America/Volkswagen Group]