1:20 pm, January 9, 2024
Volkswagen has quashed rumours it will delay the launch of its much anticipated small EV.
Last week, German media reported the carmaker had decided to postpone the launch of its forthcoming small electric hatchback, the ID.2, by a year to 2026.
The rumours, as reported by Car Dealer, were believed to be linked to the relation of expected tougher Euro 7 pollution laws, which, in theory, allow existing ICE vehicles to be sold for longer than expected.
It was reported Volkswagen would take advantage of this change to proposed Euro 7 laws, and keep its combustion-engined Polo on sale for longer and delay the launch of the new EV.
The electric hatchback will be based on the ID.2all concept, which VW revealed in March 2022. It will sit beneath the ID.3 and is expected to have a retail price of around 25,000 euros (£21,500).
But the German car giant has hit back at the rumours and denied it’s made the decision to postpone.
An executive has told Autocar the new EV’s development schedule remains on track and a reveal in 2025 will take place.
‘There was a rumour that we postponed the ID.2all to 2026, but that’s not true,’ technical development boss Kai Grunitz, told the magazine.
‘We are still working on the ID 2.all over the same timeframe.’
He added: ‘This is the 36-month [development] timeline that we changed to in early 2023. If you go back to last year when we revealed the ID.2all, we had worked for eight weeks on that project and you can see what came out.’
Revealed at CES 2024, the Mk8.5 Golf will use physical buttons on its steering wheel
The clarification comes as Volkswagen has pledged future car interiors will draw inspiration from the ID.2all concept in using physical buttons.
Yesterday, Volkswagen used the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas to announce that it will begin integrating AI chatbot ChatGPT into its cars from later this year.
The Mk8.5 Golf, which will be revealed in full later this month, will be one of the first VWs to feature the tech.
A partially disguised Golf GTI Mk8.5 was present at the CES announcement, and it featured a steering wheel with physical buttons in place of the haptic feedback versions which are used on the current Mk8 Golf.
The haptic buttons and clunky infotainment system in the current Golf have been heavily criticised since the car launched in 2019.
Volkswagen has promised the updated Mk8.5 will feature a raft of quality, tech and usability improvements.
