Volkswagen stands up to new Chinese rivals with ID.2

This was a significant moment, I believe.  The moment when the first of the European car makers decided now was the time to make electric cars more affordable – and, importantly, more fleet focused.

The new Volkswagen ID.2 – or ID.2all to give the car its full title – was shown last week as a concept.

Some concept car.

It looked almost production ready to me. A Polo sized hatchback but with the interior space of a Golf.

What’s more, Volkswagen is promising that the ID.2 when it goes into production will start at a cost that’s less than €25,000 euros – or roughly £22,000.

At the moment the cheapest EV on the market is Smart’s EQ fortwo coupé at £22,225. But that’s strictly a two seater. The ID.2 is promising a start point below that, and of course you get more seats and far greater practicality and space.

If you want a five-seater hatchback, then you need to step up to the Chinese owned MG brand and its MG4 hatchback at £26,995.

Again the ID.2 plans to significantly undercut MG’s position – and it’s certainly below the GWM Ora Cat which was expected to arrive in the UK at a £25,000 price point, but actually landed at more than £32,000.

So it’s a big statement from Europe’s biggest car maker. What’s more, it shows that Volkswagen is not simply going to roll over as it faces rising competition from some excellent Chinese electric vehicles.

No, this was fighting talk.

Here was a Golf-like hatchback, with signature C-pillar at the rear and a stance that makes it instantly recognisable as a Volkswagen in the Polo/Golf mould.

What’s more there’s front-wheel drive – a first for an electric car. And although we have no details of the battery, it is promised to have a range of 280 miles, which is sufficient for most people.

I’m very excited by the car. This is exactly the vehicle fleets have been wanting: well-priced, with all the dependable virtues of being a Volkswagen.

There was a time when the Golf could do no wrong for fleets. In 2010 the Association of Car Fleet Operators (now part of the AFP) – a hard-headed lot of fleet managers – voted the Golf its best fleet car for an astonishing fourth successive year. It was a car that encapsulated solid reliability with a dash of class.

To me, the new ID.2 has the same feel about it. Which is why I think it will be a great hit with fleets, offering a five door family car that’s highly suitable for business during the working week, but with the practicality for the family a the weekend, including a boot of 490 litres capacity that can be extend with rear seats folded to 1330 litres.

To give you some perspective, the current Golf Mk8 has a boot size of 380 litres with the seats up and 1,237 litres with the rear seats down.

And, of course, the ID.2 will have an attractive benefit in kind position.

But I don’t see this car just confined to fleets – for companies with forward-looking Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agendas, the zero emission ID.2  is a perfect car for salary sacrifice takers, at a price point that will open up the opportunity for greener motoring to more people.

It’s a car that makes me very excited for the future. Roll on 2025 when the ID.2 is slated to drive off the production line.