ID Polo, ID Cross lead new VW entry strategy

PRODUCTION will commence next year on a pair of entry-level battery electric (BEV) Volkswagen models which the German marque intends to appeal to cost-conscious buyers while warding off the imminent threat of Chinese competition on the European continent.

The popularity of small cars and SUVs in Europe makes the case for the ID Polo supermini and ID Cross light SUV – just announced in Munich – particularly urgent there, but ongoing cost-of-living concerns and new emissions regulations that will incentivise cheap, clean cars means the models should be relevant in Australia as well.

Measuring 4.04 metres and 4.16 metres in length respectively, the lower-set ID Polo and high-riding ID Cross are truly small and will serve as direct replacements – potentially in production simultaneously for a while – for today’s Polo and T-Cross models, both sold in Australia.

Under Volkswagen’s previous naming strategy, the ID Polo was to be called the ID.2 but a decision, led by VW passenger cars chief executive Thomas Schäfter, was recently taken to abandon numbering and restore familiar names to future BEV models.

An even smaller vehicle has been mooted in the form of the ID.1, which could wear ID Up or ID Fox badging in production.

In Germany, the ID Polo will be priced from €22,000 ($A39,250) when it goes into production in Martorell, Spain next year.

That is a 10 per cent increase over the equivalent turbo-petrol Polo in Europe. Locally, the petrol Polo kicks off at $30,790 plus on-road costs.

Pricing of the slightly lengthened, raised and bulked-up ID Cross is set to be even more aggressive, with a mooted €25,000 ($A44,600) price tag effectively identical to that of the ICE T-Cross in Europe (currently priced at $34,990 + ORC in Australia).

Both models are underpinned by the Volkswagen Group’s lower-cost MEB Entry platform, which supports a single front electric motor layout and battery sizes up to about 56kWh at the current time, while entry versions are likely to use a smaller and lighter 38kWh pack for between 300-450km range (estimated).

An ID Polo GTI will serve as the performance option of the set with a higher power output (166kW) for its front motor.

Familiar exterior styling, particularly in the case of the ID Polo – which arrived at the IAA Munich motor show in camouflage evoking the Harlequin Polo of the 1990s – is meant to usher Volkswagen loyalists back to the Wolfsburg brand.

A hard pivot away from buttonless and featureless interiors is underway in the cabin of both vehicles. Technology is on display in the form of slate-like screens (measuring 11 inches for the driver and 13 inches for the central unit) but hard keys return for key functions while fabric trim is extensively used for surfacing.

The near-production version of the ID Cross shown in Munich uniquely offers the ability to fold all seats in the vehicle completely flat in a camping mode. Boot space is large for both vehicles at 490L (ID Polo) and 450L (ID Cross), supplemented by a small frunk.

Key targets in Europe for the ID Polo and ID Cross will be inexpensive Chinese rivals like the BYD Dolphin. In Australia this year, the Dolphin – a simple front-wheel drive BEV that starts at $30K + ORC, has so far outsold both the Polo and the T-Cross.

A broader European BEV fightback against cheaper Chinese vehicles is underway, with Volkswagen now set to join the fray alongside Continental alternatives like the Renault 5, Dacia Spring and Peugeot e-208.