Volkswagen: Numerous small electric cars in preparation

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Volkswagen will present the production version of the Cupra Raval at the IAA in September 2025. The Cupra is the first production electric car based on the MEB Small. As usual, MEB stands for Modular Electrification Toolkit. In contrast to the previous electric cars from the ID.3 to the ID.7 to the ID.Buzz, the vehicles with the MEB Small have front-wheel drive throughout. Access to the charging socket in accordance with the European standard CCS (for Combined Charging System) is mounted at the front right, directly behind the front wheel – This is the difference that is most clearly visible from the outside.

Together with the Cupra Raval, a study for a Volkswagen SUV with the working title ID.2X will be presented at the IAA. The production version of the regular ID.2 will follow at the beginning of 2026 and should be in dealerships by Easter 2026 at the latest. The Skoda Epiq mini SUV will also be launched on the market in the course of the year. The VW ID.2X interpretation of the small SUV theme will follow at the end of 2026. The VW ID.1 has also been received with enormous interest by the public. It is the fifth and smallest electric car based on the MEB Small and will not hit the roads until the second half of 2027.

What is known

The shortest offshoot will be the ID.1, which VW recently showed as the ID.Every1 study. In terms of external dimensions, the ID.1 is likely to be very close to the Renault 5, i.e., considerably larger than the VW Up. In centimeters, the study measures 3.88 m in length, 1.81 m in width without exterior mirrors and 1.49 m in height. The trunk has a capacity of 305  liters. We assume that these dimensions will change very little, if at all, by the time the production model – is launched –. For comparison: the first VW Golf was 3.71 m long and 1.61 m wide.

When viewed on site, the ID.1 study is strongly reminiscent of the first Golf: the straight window line and clear lines like those of Giorgio Giugiaro are a direct reminiscence. There are also elements of the Golf 4 by Hartmut Warkuß; the kink across the side of the vehicle (“tornado line”) is missing and the C-pillar looks like a direct copy of the Golf from 1997. What the current VW designer Andreas Mindt has created looks like a Volkswagen and not like a modernist exaggeration of the brand identity.

Identical parts with the ID.2

In a background interview with heise Autos, Volkswagen Board Member for Development Kai Grünitz provides details. The front end is technically (not visually) identical to the ID.2 up to the A-pillar, but everything behind it is an independent car. For example, the ID.1 has a different rear axle. At around 20,000 euros, the ID.1 has to be around 5000 euros cheaper than the ID.2. Savings have to be made on almost everything. According to Grünitz, they had thought about which elements a Volkswagen absolutely had to have. A rotary control for the volume, for example. The ID.1 will have one, and there will also be a central control system – unlike the basic version of the Citroën ë-C3, for example, which uses the driver's own smartphone as a replacement.

The ID.1 will be the first Volkswagen to use the software from the joint venture with Rivian. This should also reduce costs. With the Rivian software, the ID.1 has a unique selling point among the MEB Small electric cars. There has been much speculation about the energy content of the traction battery. Inexpensive and robust LFP cells are assumed. The rest is open. Although Volkswagen is not saying so, considering the rapidly declining price level on the battery market, there will probably be a long poker game until the final package is defined. This point in time will be chosen as late as possible.

Always with the option of DC charging

The statement of “at least 250 km range” refers to a standard variant. A slimmed-down ID.1 for delivery and care services and a luxury version at the top end are also conceivable. The space between the axles is limited at around 2.5 m, even if the LFP cells are built directly into the crash housing without a module level. Nevertheless, the ID.1 should be able to supply external electrical devices. Unlike the Renault 5, it will always be DC-capable. However, bidirectional charging is not guaranteed because it is a cost factor.

Volkswagen needs the ID.1 for the European market and only here. Conversely, buyers are demanding such electric cars. There will be no derivatives from Skoda or Cupra to achieve sufficiently high unit numbers. The ID.1 is to remain a solitaire from Volkswagen, which will be built in Palmela, Portugal. That is the current status, and it is by no means impossible that this will be changed again. After all, it probably wouldn't cost much to stick other badges on it to attract Skoda or Cupra fans. Volkswagen took a very similar approach many years ago with the VW Up, Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii. Behind this is a simple economic calculation: if the Group sees an opportunity to sell more cars profitably in this way, it will probably do so.

The ID.2 and Cupra Raval small cars

VW ID.2 and Cupra Raval are two different hats – i.e., bodies – on the same basis of the MEB Small. Let's stick to the data of the ID.2 because more is known about it. At 4.05 m, the ID.2 is around 17 cm longer than the ID.1. It measures 1.81 m in width and 1.53 m in height. At 2.60 m, the wheelbase is around 10 cm longer than that of the ID.Every1. A striking feature of the ID.2all study was the very large luggage compartment of 490 liters. The generous volume is the result of a generous recess behind the rear axle, which offers enough space for several crates of drinks. There is also a folding front passenger seat like in the ID.Every1. All of this makes it into the standard car. In terms of design, the ID.2 looks somewhat rounder than the ID.1, less bulky and almost like a Polo. And that's what it's all about: creating an electric Polo.