VW to launch ID.1 production in September 2027

The portal La Tribuna de Automoción now claims to have learnt more details from people in the know. Series production of the ID.1 is set to begin in September 2027 and, according to the current plan, the volume will be around 100,000 units per year. The project to industrialise the VW ID.1 will be led by Markus Haupt, Member of the Board of Management for Production and currently also interim CEO of the Seat brand following the sudden departure of Wayne Griffiths.

This would make the production volume for the small electric car in Palmela (often referred to as the Setúbal plant) comparable to the project that Haupt has been driving forward at Seat’s main plant in Martorell: the production of the slightly larger Cupra Raval and VW ID.2 small electric cars, but with 100,000 units per model. With the series version of the ID.1, Palmela will initially only be home to one e-series, but it will work according to the same principle under the main plant.

VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer confirmed in March a few days after the world première of the ID.EVERY1 study that the ID.1 would come from Portugal. Portugal was already considered the favourite for the €20,000 electric car due to its low production costs, which must be kept as low as possible in order to operate profitably. Unlike the ID.2, where further offshoots are planned with the Cupra Raval and the ID.2X and Skoda Epiq from the Navarra plant, the ID.1 is not to receive any sister models from the Group – so the unit numbers will remain lower by themselves.

However, VW has already done a lot in the past to ensure that production in Palmela can be so favourable. As part of the so-called ‘One Production’ strategy, obstacles between the Spanish and Portuguese plants have been removed, and a better rail connection has been built since November 2021 to reduce logistics costs. For example, Palmela should also be able to be supplied quickly and cheaply with battery cells from the PowerCo battery factory in Sagunt near Valencia.

VW brand boss Schäfer presented the ID.EVERY1 in Düsseldorf at the beginning of March. The study, which is set to become a production model by 2027, is 3.88 metres long, 1.82 metres wide and 1.49 metres high. The electric motor mounted on the front axle has an output of 70 kW and should be able to accelerate the car up to 130 kilometres per hour. For cost reasons, an LFP battery is installed in the €20,000 electric car, which should provide a range of around 250 kilometres. VW has not yet provided any further details on the battery.

latribunadeautomocion.es (in Spanish)