You, a person of class and taste, were likely enthralled by the unveiling of the Volkswagen ID.2all concept yesterday. Here, it seemed, was a fantastic deal: about 280 miles of electric range on Europe’s WLTP cycle, plus all the practicality, upscale tech and jaunty performance we love from the Volkswagen Golf and GTI—and then some. I unfortunately must be the bearer of bad news for my home country: when it goes to production, the ID.2all will not come to the United States.
A Volkswagen USA spokesperson told me today that officially, there are no plans to sell this thing in the U.S. This is a big letdown, but it’s not a surprising one, is it? After all, most automakers that sell cars here are heavily focused on trucks, SUVs and crossovers, including (especially, even) electric ones.
Even the standard Volkswagen Golf was discontinued stateside when the MK7 generation bowed out, leaving only the GTI and Golf R for those of us who still appreciate small European hatchbacks and want to fund our local municipalities with speeding ticket revenue.
Furthermore, the new Inflation Reduction Act has complicated the EV game by heavily incentivizing automakers to produce their electric cars in North America. That’d mean VW would need to set up a whole production line for the ID.2all (which may just be called the Golf, reportedly) in Tennessee or Mexico. It makes more sense for VW to build EV crossovers there instead because they can charge more for them and the margins are higher.
Maybe if we wanted this thing, we should’ve bought more Golfs. Sorry, everyone.
On the plus side, VW’s making an even bigger investment into EVs than we’ve seen so far (and it’s already doing a lot there, globally) and the very realistic ID.2all concept shows a promising direction for all of them. I actually like the styling here, which is a bit more toned-down from the ID.3 and ID.4 out there now. More “normal” electric cars are a good thing.
Not that we in America would know this one, of course.
F**K ME
It seems like the American car industry as a whole is doing everything possible to move upmarket. The only “cheap” cars are going to be used luxury cars. This is a major bummer. I was thinking this could be the second coming of the Beetle here; unlike the New Beetle, which was also based on a Golf, but was an affront to all Beetles everywhere.
GM should consider the renewed demand for the Bolt with the new tax credit and keep manufacturing it in the future. It’s been rumored that it may be phased out when the Trax ev and blazer ev manufacturing gets up to speed. If they came out with a gti type version of it with sport suspension and tires it’d be a blast. It’s already pretty fun with just upgraded tires. It’s already a fantastic city car and it’s roomy for its size. I regularly have 4 adults in mine with plenty of room and I’m 6’3. I actually find the seats really comfortable too in the newer ones compared to when it first came out.
Looks good! Clearly a Golf -just look at that C pillar! Happy youthful facia is much less dull than mk8. I also like the fact it supposedly has a few knobs/buttons (still not enough), the Polo exterior size with Golf interior space, it has a lot going for it. Except an engine note and a stick shift…
hehehe of course they’d do that to the country that caught them cheating with their diesels lol
We still get the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt
I (a Fisker P.E.A.R. reservation holder–sucker) would buy one of these puppies in a second. Perfect size and features.
“[…] we should’ve bought more Golfs.”
– sorry everyone, but I made the mistake of buying a Golf once and won’t repeat it. I take full responsibility for the ID.2all [and 2all a goodnight!] not coming stateside………..
Arrrgh.
I don’t _want_ an EV that costs so much that a 3-year loan with money down will cost as much as my mortgage.
I don’t want a 7+ year loan.
I don’t need advanced “self driving.” I don’t want a car that’s constantly sending data to the manufacturer. Or companies they sold access to.
I want real buttons.
I don’t need a crossover or SUV. Give me something durable, reasonably comfortable and useful. Looking reasonably attractive would be a bonus.
I would have strongly considered this. I won’t be looking at an iD Buzz at its rumored price.
Guess I’ll buy something interesting that’s used. I just got a Quick-Jack and have plenty of tools.
In the U.S., the wealthiest 20% drives the new auto market. Everyone else is too broke and living paycheck to paycheck to afford anything new. If working class people could afford new cars like they could in the past, they would likely buy low-cost entry level offerings, just as they did in the past. But when the bottom 3/4 of the population don’t even have $1,000 in savings, the result is that they buy used, if they’re fortunate enough to afford even that.
A massive wave of auto loan defaults is incoming. Hopefully there are no bailouts for the industry.
As a hypothetical… If I bought at $65,000 iD Buzz (I’m guessing on the price) with $20K down at 3% (haven’t looked at loans lately) for 4 years (longest I’m willing to get a car loan for)… That comes to $1000/month. Which is a bit bonkers. My payments for my Outback were, with $15K down… around $400/month when I bought it in 2016. It’s been paid off for years.
I don’t think the current state of affairs is sustainable (statistics on the number of underwater loans seams to support that). I also find it interesting that even the legacy auto publications devote a whole lot of space to… archival reviews. That suggests to me that people aren’t as excited about new cars as they used to be. At the current prices… I can understand why.
I get that VW gets higher profit margins on more expensive cars… but if they sold _more_ cars at a lower margin…?
Each car sold at a lower margin will displace the sale of a more profitable car. That is why the state of affairs is the way it is. Greed. The moral hazard the industry faces is that if one company puts out a low-margin, long-range, planned-obsolescence-resistant EV under $15k, if it sells very well, everyone else will have to do the same to compete, which will drive down margins much thinner than they are. This is one of the reasons U.S. “safety” regulations are the way they are: the Chinese are being prevented from doing exactly that. The major automakers do not want a repeat of what Japan did to the U.S. auto industry in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Drive, at least, reports that it will come with buttons. If there’s a Mk8.5 Golf R with buttons it may be my last ICE purchase.
“In a nod to fans of physical controls, VW notes that the concept features a real physical volume control. There’s also a separate block of real buttons for the climate control, too. Plus, in a particularly nice touch, the accelerator and brake pedals feature a play and pause icon, respectively.”
https://www.thedrive.com/news/volkswagens-id-2all-concept-is-a-26000-ev-hatchback-youd-acutally-want-to-drive
What is 280 miles WLTP in real units? Because I suspect this is actually another EV with underwhelming range like the Beez Forks.
It would probably end up at around 240mi in the city, somewhat less at freeway speeds. That WLTP is ludicrously optimistic.
A while ago I saw a comparison of MSRPs for small SUVs/CUVs (whatever you want to call them) and the more traditional cars with which they shared platforms. The difference was stark. 30-40% premiums for the SUV versions compared to their sedan siblings. It’s hard to fault the automakers for shifting away from lower-margin cars when just some very minor design changes could result in a bigger pricetag — especially if consumers are so willing to pay it.
It’s disappointing for sure that we won’t be getting this one. I liked it, and it would have fit my needs quite nicely. That said, I wonder if one day VW might slap a slight lift and some plastic bumper cladding on it and sell it in the US for $35k.
I’m a serial VW owner, air and water cooled. Currently drive a MK7 GTI Autobahn, and when I’m done with it, this would be a nice choice. But I live in America, and every car company wants me to get an SUV. They can suck it!
I’m a serial Honda owner. I think I’m going to start hoarding 4cyl Accords so I’ll have something to get me to end of life without resorting to a 4,000 lb. CUV.
I’m eyeing a second Fit for that reason.
This is why we need reciprocity with Europe on safety regulations – electric cars mean the emissions and fuel economy stuff no longer applies, but if we just said, hey, the EU has pretty strict safety regs of their own, anything that passes EuroNCAP is automatically allowed here, then you could have independent importers stick a few Euro-only EVs on a container ship and bring them in, like Max Hoffman used to do
There are plenty of subcompact European cars that are survivable in 100+ mph crashes on the Autobahn, often without injury to the occupants, that won’t pass U.S. “safety” standards.
Which is all the more reason we need to drop the obsolete non-tariff barriers to free trade and consumer choice.
Many of those barriers exist to steer people into purchasing crossovers, trucks, and SUVs. What we are seeing in the auto market today is the end result of something deliberate and planned more than a decade ago. Profits are up accordingly. It’s “just business, nothing personal”, as they say.
It’s going to blow up in everyone’s face soon, and will be a wonderful shitshow to observe. My major gripe is that it is the common person that is going to lose out in the process, unless some sort of radical solution is implemented, and I certainly don’t want industry insiders and/or government bureaucrats deciding what that solution is.
More “normal” EVs are/will be a good thing, but for Americans that’s never been a small hatchback, especially one at a premium price. This would still get perceived as less car for the money given its size.
For U.S. buyers a sedan is more “normal” even despite their shrinking share of the segment. Ioniq 6 isn’t cheap and maybe not “normal” looking but it is a sedan.
For a buyer looking for a cheap commuter car with greater efficiency, a Corolla Hybrid would be at least $3k less. The upcoming Civic Hybrid may be about the same price as this would be, and is roomier inside than a Golf. Or for just outright low price, VW themselves offers one of the more affordable compact sedans with the Jetta starting in the low 20s.
Not only are the hybrids in this class cheaper, they suffer no range anxiety (even with small tanks) and in the end will cost less to fuel than an EV. EVs, at least in many parts of the country, like New England with colder winters and higher electricity prices are a place where EVs don’t make as much financial sense, you have to want EV or the environmental advantages. This size/class of car are also typically bought by people who might not have a single family home to charge at, which also limits the US market. I would bet the primary target would be a your professional, pre-kids, good income, who likely is still in a condo or renting so likely harder to charge where parked.
Isn’t this very close to the Chevy Bolt specs?
That’s my thought also. Unfortunately the Bolt never sold well (until 2022) because of the recalls, original high price and many dealers didn’t even know the car existed. If they looked at Bolt sales without considering those headwinds, I can understand why we didn’t get the ID.3 and wont get the ID.2. It was only after two significant price drops, high gas prices in the summer of 2022 and requalifying for the $7,500 tax credit did the Bolt finally start to move.
Fingers crossed for Canada!
I could see this doing well up there, actually. Canada does favor small cars and hatchbacks, and always seemed to do better with small cars on the higher side of pricing.
Especially if they do a stripped-down Quebec Special base model
I could see it now. 15″ steelies. Driver’s side mirror only. Driver’s door handle only. Black unpainted bumpers.
I work at one of the big aerospace companies here in Montreal where salaries are generous. 10+% of the parking lot are bare bone shitboxes.
They sell well here.
Precisely. Use the demand to price in some margin and it will do fine. I know two people who have bought GTIs, just because they could not get a base Golf anymore.
60% of Tercels sold in NA were sold in the province of Quebec. Anecdotally, vehicles are smaller there (both cars and SUVs), RV’s are smaller, as are houses. Fingers crossed that it comes to Canuckistan. This would replace my much loved base Sportwagen, when it gives up the ghost.
I keep reading about the death of the sedan, but I just don’t think that’s the future. Single car households may need a larger vehicle, but I think a smaller, town-based EV with an appropriate range would sell well in the US. When I finally cave on an EV, I’m hoping there’s something smaller than an SUV available. A Golf would be very enticing.
The new electric Fiat 500 is coming so if it sells in any numbers maybe it would make VW reconsider? A cheaper small electric is exactly what we need and if it can charge quickly the lower range is livable.
The electric 500 has been priced for Australia. It’s a smidge over double the cost of the ICE version. So you can forget about it being cheap…
Look, it’s really simple. They just need to give it a 1 inch lift, add some black cladding around the wheel arches and call it the ID.2cross coupe’. Also get rid of the fabulous blue and offer it in 50 shades of gray.
One ironic thumb.
While you’re not wrong, I hate you for this reality check
Dear America: enjoy your big, fat, sloppy Truck-UVs that cost 3 times as much (before dealer mark-ups) and get half the range.
You forgot “pedestrian-murdering”
https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo
Hopefully by the time I blow the first head gasket on my Mk8 there will be something like this to slide into.
Dear VW,
Please allow me to express my displeasure; boo, hiss, and even spit.
Thank you
“You, a person of class and taste…”
I’m flattered but clearly we’ve never met.
By Autopian standards we’re classy. Lest we forget shower spaghetti.
I’m flattered but clearly we’ve never met.
By Autopian standards anyone who does not currently have trenchfoot is classy. 😉