2025 Volkswagen ID 2 will be "even better" than concept

Design work on the production version of the Volkswagen ID 2all hatch has been finished and design chief Andreas Mindt claims it looks “even better” than the concept version.

The sub-€25,000 (roughly sub-£21,150)  electric car will be shown for the first time later this year, with sales starting in 2025. The ID 2all concept was designed in around six weeks, but Mindt said his team had fought hard to make sure the production model closely follows its styling and dimensions.

Mindt said the ID 2all project had passed the design freeze, with the design essentially completed, and “it’s even better [than the concept]. I really like it, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so optimistic for our future”.

Mindt added that the positive reaction to the concept gave them “a lot of tailwind for the production version”. He said: “I could almost force everybody around me by saying: ‘Look at the feedback. We have to turn this into reality. Whatever you say – money saving, whatever – I want this design’.”

The new Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa-e rival will be the first model to use the long-anticipated MEB Entry platform that the Volkswagen Group has developed.

It will also spawn a GTI variant, due for a reveal in 2026. That will take numerous cues from the ID GTI concept unveiled last year. Volkswagen will also use the platform for a higher-riding crossover model known as the ID 2X, which is due in 2025.

Mindt said that model's design will be distinct from the hatch's, noting that it will be “more upright, more self-confident. It’s matching 100% to our brand values: it will be stable and likeable with our secret sauce - but in a different way.”

The ID 2all concept measures 4050mm long, making it slightly shorter than the current Polo, but its 2600mm wheelbase is significantly longer, allowing for far greater interior space. It features a 490-litre boot, with 1330 litres of capacity when the rear seats are folded down.

The MEB Entry platform is front-wheel drive, while EVs built on the existing MEB platform offer rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive powertrains. The front-mounted motor will produce 223bhp and the ID 2all has a claimed range of up to 280 miles.

The platform will also be used for the production version of the Cupra Urban Rebel concept, a future Skoda crossover and a second Volkswagen model: a compact crossover that will feature more rugged styling inspired by models such as the T-Cross and T-Roc.

When it reaches production, it will sit under the ID 3 in the firm’s EV line-up, with VW describing it as being “as spacious as a Golf and as inexpensive as a Polo”.

Significantly, the ID 2all showcases an entirely new design language that will feature on all of the firm’s future EVs. This is part of a major brand revamp that's intended to, in the words of Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer, “make Volkswagen a genuine love brand”.

That philosophy involves the firm embracing its heritage as a key point of difference from new EV rivals, and the ID 2all shows clear influences from the Polo and Golf, with more traditional styling than the ID 3.

The decision to switch the platform to front-wheel drive was to maximise the space available for luggage, enabling that large boot.

The platform can accept two battery sizes – 38kWh and 56kWh – each of which uses different battery cell technology. While the maximum claimed range of 280 miles is for the 56kWh unit, the entry-level £22,000 ones will feature the smaller battery.

Volkswagen describes the drivetrain, battery and charging technology as “particularly efficient”. While the 38kWh batteries will use lithium-iron-phosphate prismatic cells, the firm has yet to disclose the chemistry of the larger unit.

Volkswagen claims the 58kWh battery in the ID 2all will be able to complete a 10-80% charge in around 20 minutes and will have a maximum charging rate of 125kW. The car has a top speed of 99mph and a 0-62mph time of less than 7.0sec.

Reports previously claimed that Volkswagen had pushed back the launch of the ID 2, after relaxed Euro 7 emissions rules meant it could continue selling similarly priced combustion cars like the Polo.

But now, the company has confirmed the ID 2 will still be unveiled this year ahead of a production ramp-up in 2025, as was originally outlined when it revealed the near-ready ID2all concept last year.

Clarification about the ID 2's gestation comes shortly after VW confirmed that future Volkswagen interiors will all draw inspiration from the ID 2all concept in bringing back physical buttons and controls.

The touchscreen-heavy approach taken for the Mk8 Golf and ID 3 has proven unpopular with customers, prompting a complete design rethink by the company. The new approach has already come to fruition with the facelifted version of the Golf, which drops its haptic steering wheel controls in favour of physical buttons.

VW interior designer Darius Watola said the ID2all concept “showed a new approach for all models” and was in response to “recent feedback from customers”. Schäfer recently claimed the touchscreen approach "did a lot of damage" to the brand.

The new interior has a row of physical (and backlit) buttons for the climate control and a rotary controller on the centre tunnel to operate the screen on the dashboard above, much like with BMW’s iDrive.

As well as a main central touchscreen for infotainment, there's also a screen for driving information. Watola said such a display in the driver’s eyeline is crucial for safety.

He said “customers had a different view in Europe” from those in other global markets and wanted “more physical buttons”.

There's also a revolution in terms of material use, as VW is looking to phase out hard plastics, glue, leather and chrome.

Almost every surface in the ID 2all is soft to the touch, mixing Alcantara and other fabrics as part of a sustainability push. There's limited use of some woods and metals too.

The concept’s screens can be selected in different themes, including retro graphics from the original Golf, and this feature is expected to make production.

Also expected to survive are its clever storage features, such as the foldable bottom half of the rear bench that allows a bike to be put in the rear passenger footwells and a storage space beneath the floor of the 490-litre boot that’s big enough for three big drinks crates.

There's also a focus on reducing the number of components – for example, on the doors that combine the door handles, grab handles and armrest into one unit.

This new approach to interior design is part of the firm's intention to make VW a ‘love brand’. The ID 2all concept is a manifesto for that from Mindt, who moved across to VW from Bentley in February.

On the new interiors, Mindt said they would be a “better quality and nicer design” and “customers say a pure touchscreen is not enough and they expect physical switches and dials for important functions”.

As well as the interior, the concept showcases the brand’s new exterior design language, which draws from classic models such as the Beetle, Golf and Polo.

Volkswagen previously revealed the ID Life crossover concept, which was intended to preview the first MEB Entry model, but that has now been shelved after it received a poor reception.

Remarkably, Mindt and his team designed the new concept model in just six weeks, and had to work around the already established fixed points of the MEB Entry platform.

Mindt said Volkswagen is “transferring the DNA of our icons into the future”, adding that the ID 2all is “therefore also an homage to the Beetle, Golf and Polo”. He said it shows how future VWs will build on three design pillars: stability, likeability and excitement.

Classic cues include a C-pillar design intended to evoke the Mk1 Golf, which builds on "a general feature of compact Volkswagen models". Mindt has also reduced the volume above the wheels in order to give the car a more powerful stance on the road.

The revamped front end features a number of "upwardly rising elements", which, Mindt said, are crucial to give the car “a confident smile” and likeability. He added: “It's important for us that the front of a Volkswagen shows a human expression.”

Mindt said that despite the comparatively low target price, the ID 2all has “high-quality materials” inside to add excitement, highlighting the driving mode selector switch as an example.

Volkswagen said the ID 2all will be offered with some of the advanced assistance systems usually seen on only higher-end models, including Travel Assist and Park Assist, LED matrix headlights, massaging electric seats and a panoramic sunroof.

The production version will be shown in 2025 before entering production in Spain, alongside the closely related Cupra and Skoda models.

It will be one of 10 EVs that Volkswagen will launch by 2026, which also include the facelifted ID 3, the long-wheelbase Volkswagen ID Buzz, the ID 7 saloon and the compact SUV that will join the ID 2all in using the MEB Entry platform.