Volkswagen has not yet made a decision on producing an electric car priced at €20,000 ($22,000). However, in a speech earlier this week, Chief Executive Oliver Blume stated that the company can produce such a car by 2029.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin, Blume emphasized that the main factor in reducing the prices of electric cars is decreasing battery costs.
Volkswagen plans to develop a unified battery cell that would cut battery costs in half. The unified battery cell would cut costs by having a simpler design, cheaper cathode and anode materials, and a more efficient recycling process.
Earlier this year, Volkswagen introduced details about an electric car under development, set to launch by 2025. The vehicle is currently known as the ID 2all.
Priced at €25,000, the car is expected to have a range of 450 km and battery charging capability from 10% to 80% in approximately 20 minutes.
If Volkswagen ends up producing an even cheaper €20,000 EV, it could be a major blow to Tesla. With current currency exchange rates, €20,000 would translate to just under $22,000 US.
This means that the $22,000 Volkswagen EV would be even cheaper than Tesla’s recently announced ultra-affordable model. Earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would begin producing a $25,000 EV at Germany’s Giga Berlin factory.
$25,000 is widely regarded as the price that EVs must fall to in order for mass adoption to occur. Therefore, Volkswagen has an opportunity to surpass Tesla’s EV sales by the end of the decade.
Although Tesla is planning to begin production of the $25,000 EV by mid-2025, the company is notorious for failing to meet production targets. For example, Musk delayed the Tesla Cybertruck’s launch date five times.
In addition, Musk had been promising a $25,000 EV for five years before making the Giga Berlin announcement.
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