Volkswagen introduced the ID.Life at the Munich car show on Monday. The ID. Life is a small, boxy electric SUV built for city driving. Currently, it’s only a charming concept car, but VW hopes to bring something similar into manufacturing by 2025.
The ID. Life will cost around €20,000, or little under $24,000 at current exchange rates, and is aimed at youthful, first-time vehicle purchasers. VW did not specify which markets the new model will be available in.
The ID.Life showcases a future production model that will join VW’s worldwide range in 2025, replacing the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 small crossover; it could even find its path to North America.
On the European WLTP test, a 231-hp electric engine drives the front wheels, while a 57.0-kWh battery capacity is touted to provide up to 249 miles of driving per charge.
We’ve included remarks from Scott Keogh, President, and CEO of Volkswagen of America, in which he opens the way to a production model of the ID.Life SUV joining VW’s U.S. range in the future.
Because it’s a concept car, the ID. Life designers have incorporated several features that may or may not exist in the final version.
The vehicle, for example, is built from a variety of renewable or recycled resources. According to VW, wood chips were utilized as a coloring ingredient in the paint, and the lightweight detachable roof is constructed from recyclable bottles. VW claims the tires are manufactured from bio-based lubricants, rice husks, and natural rubber.
With the debut of the ID.Life concept at this year’s Munich car show, Volkswagen’s intentions for its next series of tiny electric vehicles are becoming clearer. The concept teases a new vehicle that VW wants to debut in Europe by 2025, and it might eventually find its way to the United States as the entry-level model in VW’s ID electric SUV lineup.
The ID.Life, which looks like a cross between a city car and a subcompact SUV, is energized by a 231-hp electric engine driving the front wheels, and a 57.0-kWh battery capacity is expected to provide up to 249 miles of driving per charge on the European WLTP cycle.
The roof of the ID.Life idea, which is made up of air-filled pockets in a textile/plastic composite, may be excluded to give the driver an accessible experience of driving. The ID.Life’s roof and other interior components are built from recycled plastic bottles. Natural rubber, rice husks, and wood chips are among the other environmentally beneficial materials utilized throughout.
The interior is extensively customizable, with options for converting the front and second-row bench seats into beds, as well as a cargo-space-maximizing mode. VW also claims that the ID.Life’s interior can be converted into a pleasant viewing area for movies or games consoles, but only while the idea is parked.
A hexagonal-shaped steering wheel features an inset digital display screen, and the driver may dock his or her smartphone instead of using a more typical infotainment display affixed to the dashboard. The ID.Life idea replaces internal and exterior mirrors with cameras and tiny screens, but this is one advanced feature we don’t expect to see in the final version.
The ID.Life concept car foreshadows a production car that is essential to VW’s ambition of increasing its share of EV sales in Europe to 70% by 2030. In Europe, the base price for this entry-level model should be around $24,000, and VW is hoping that it will bring a different class of EV consumers.
“I believe a vehicle like that, tactically, it’s got some SUV-esque dimensions and the packaging, it seems to be something absolutely we would like to achieve,” Volkswagen of America ceo Scott Keogh said when asked whether the production model of the concept will come to the U.s.. You can’t achieve all of your goals of up to 70% electric vehicles in modern vehicles.
The ID. Life is built on the very same fully electric platform as existing VW products including the ID.4 crossover SUV. The ID. Life, on the other side, is smaller and has front-wheel drive rather than rear-wheel drive like VW’s other ID models. According to VW, the vehicle can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than seven seconds and can drive around 248 miles on a single charge depending on European testing conditions.
While there are no plans to release the production model of the ID.Life in the The Us, a slew of other electric models based on the same architectural style are supposed to arrive soon, such as the ID.Buzz minivan and a three-row ID.8 crossover. Volkswagen is looking for at least a part of all new VWs sold in both North America and China by 2030.
