Volkswagen To Preview New Electric Car On March 15, Is It The ID.2?

The new entry-level model will reportedly be the first production EV based on Volkswagen Group's updated MEB+ architecture.

Entry-level Volkswagen EV official design sketch

Photo by: Volkswagen

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Mar 10, 2023 at 5:43am ET

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Volkswagen brand's social media channels are teasing a livestream event that will take place on March 15, during which the automaker will preview a new electric model.

Scheduled for March 15 at 6:20 pm CET (12:20 pm EST), the livestream will be available on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter, with Volkswagen starting the hashtag #VWforthepeople so that people can get updates on the event.

The message conveyed by the hashtag suggests Volkswagen is ready to unveil an affordable car, likely compact in size. The only vehicles that fit both characteristics are the future entry-level electric cars confirmed by CEO Thomas Schaefer in October 2022. A hatchback and a crossover, the models are rumored to get the ID.1 and ID.2 names, respectively.

In a post on LinkedIn, Volkswagen Passenger Cars offered more details about the event, noting that CEO Thomas Schaefer, design boss Andreas Mindt and other execs will "show you specifically how we'll be positioning Volkswagen for the years ahead." The next phrase was the most suggestive.

"We'll be presenting a car that not only gives a specific preview of a new electric model from the Volkswagen brand but also introduces the new design language for our future models."

Scheduled to go on sale in 2025 at a base price under $26,500 (25,000 euros), one of Volkswagen's urban electric cars – likely the hatch – is rumored to get the ID. Golf badge. The name was alluded to by Volkswagen brand CEO Thomas Schaefer in an interview with Autocar in October 2022.

The British outlet now reports that unnamed sources have confirmed the Volkswagen ID.2 will be the first model to use the MEB+ platform, an updated version of today's MEB architecture. MEB+ will reportedly bring new LFP (lithium iron phosphate) prismatic battery cells and charging speeds of up to 200 kW, among other developments.

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The concept car set to debut next week will be the second one to anticipate the brand's future small EV after the ID. Life study unveiled in September 2021. The design of the ID. Life was not received well in Wolfsburg, and rumor has it VW brand's former design boss Jozef Kaban was asked to rework the concept's styling; earlier this year, he was replaced by Andreas Mindt.

In May 2022, the automaker released a teaser image of its entry-level EV (the opening photo of this article), and it looked nothing like the ID. Life, showing a high-riding vehicle with similar styling cues to the ID.3. What we are going to see on March 15 is likely a development of that initial sketch.