Volkswagen has been at the forefront of the great EV crusade of late and is regularly delivering new EV models such as the ID.4 and ID.Buzz to market. The German manufacturer, which hopes to see big profits from EV sales in the coming years, has found great success with the VW ID.4 crossover SUV, and is now getting ready to launch an affordable entry-level offering to Europe, which will cost around £17,000 ($21,275). The new car, expected to be named the ID.1, will make use of a shortened version of the ID.3's platform and will be manufactured in Spain.

We first got an idea of what a small VW EV would look like at last year's Munich motor show when VW revealed the ID.Life concept. The new Polo-sized VW has since then taken on a more striking appearance and has been styled to look more similar to the upcoming VW Trinity saloon. You do however get the typical ID. design cues such as a horizontal light bar and an angular front end that firmly cements it as an ID. family vehicle. The VW ID.1 will be a replacement for the Volkswagen e-Up, and promises improved performance and efficiency. We expect to see a 227-horsepower front-mounted electric motor paired with a 57-kilowatt-hour battery. This setup should be good for a 0-60-mph sprint of under seven seconds and a range of 250 miles.

The new car will enter production in 2025, and will be manufactured at VW's facilities in Spain. VW has already committed nearly $10 billion to electrifying its operations, including the construction of a dedicated battery factory, and plans to ramp up production of EVs by a significant margin. "It made sense to come into EVs top down, but by 2025 we think the time will be right for a Polo-sized car," said Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess. "We have a new generation of batteries; aside from the raw material price rises, now our costs are coming down with scale. The demand is there and the margins are there for small electric cars to be profitable."