Volkswagen announced that the ID.2all would retail for less than €25,000 (roughly Rs 22.2 lakh) and that a vehicle under €20,000 (roughly Rs 17.7 lakh) would follow. Given the body type and size, these prices, while appealing for the European market, would still be unaffordable for India.
“For India, you probably have to localise deeper to get the cost further down, which is possible,” said Schafer in response to a question from Autocar India. “We showed that on the MQB-A0 platform, so when the time arises – and we introduce an electric platform – that [localisation] will definitely also have to happen.”
The Volkswagen Group’s India 2.0 programme localised its MQB-A0 platform, known as the MQB-A0-IN, and introduced the Volkswagen Virtus and Taigun as well as the Slavia and Kushaq under the Skoda brand.
Volkswagen’s fortunes rose by 86 percent last year in 2022.
The programme achieved a localization level of over 95%, but the localization of the battery would be crucial for the localization of the EV. Schafer acknowledged this saying, “The battery accounts for 40 percent of the value of the car. So if you produce the cells, then the game is on.”
It will therefore take some time even though the electric hatch is on the brand’s radar for India; according to Schafer, any plans to introduce it here would “not be before we put the car on the road here [Europe].” There is still time before India gets a taste of what would essentially be the electric equivalent of the Polo from Volkswagen, as the car is currently planned to launch in Europe by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
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