The new Volkswagen ID.Every1 is a £17,000 baby EV with the spirit of the VW Beetle

Concept previews new budget electric car that could get a familiar name and promises ‘mobility for everyone’

The VW ID.Evrey1 will be the first new Volkswagen to use an all-new software architecture (Volkswagen)

Volkswagen has revealed its new people’s car, the all-electric Volkswagen ID.Every1. The mini EV will go on sale in 2027 with prices starting at a promised €20,000 (£16,800).

The Volkswagen ID.Every1 is officially a concept, but is likely to go on sale pretty much unchanged with the same small, chic style. The production model could also be one of a new range of electric Volkswagen’s to take a familiar name rather than an ID number.

The ID.Every1 is part of Volkswagen’s ‘electric urban car’ family that will also include production versions of the €25,000 (£21,000) ID.2 range that will be unveiled later this year. It’s rumoured the latter model could be called Polo – celebrating that model’s 50th birthday in 2025 – meaning the ID.Every1 could morph into a new version of the popular VW up! or even take the Lupo name.

However, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaffer has promised that the use of any historic Volkswagen names would be appropriate. Asked if he would consider using the Scirocco name from Volkswagen’s legendary coupé model on an SUV, as Ford has done with the Capri, he laughed and said, “we'll never do that. If you call it something that it’s not, be very careful. If it's a GTI, it better be a GTI; call it an R model and it's got to be true to the genes. If it doesn't reflect the DNA of the original car in a really strong sense, then I’d rather give it a new name than do something else.”

The ID.Every1 is what Volkswagen calls a “customer defined vehicle” and is the first model in the Volkswagen Group to use an all-new software architecture, meaning even this smallest Volkswagen will get regular over-the-air updates to offer new functionality and enable it to be individually adapted to a customer’s needs.

The ID.Every1 has space for four people and offers 305 litres of luggage space (Volkswagen)

It uses a version of Volkswagen’s latest MEB electric car platform with front-wheel drive and a range of at least 155 miles. At 3,880mm it’s nearly 300mm longer than an up! but around 200mm shorter than the current VW Polo. Volkswagen says it can still comfortably seat four people and offer decent luggage space of 305 litres.

The design of the ID.Every1 stays true to Volkswagen design boss Andreas Mindt’s promise that every VW model should wear a smile. “Our ambition was to create something bold yet accessible. The ID. Every1 has a self-assured appearance but remains likeable – thanks to details such as the dynamic front lights and the ‘smiling’ rear. These design elements make it more than just a car: they give it character and an identity that people can relate to,” said Mindt.

The car features clean, minimalist surfacing, large 19-inch alloy wheels and a ‘flying roof concept’, while the eye-like front and rear lights are said to give the car ‘human-orientated’ design elements. The window line is reminiscent of the original Golf with the black surround of the rear window paying homage to the little VW up!

Inside, recycled materials and bright colours give the interior a warm, friendly feel, while the space-efficient electric car platform means there’s as much space in the ID.Every1 as there is in a current Polo.

The steering wheel features proper buttons rather than touch-sensitive pads (Volkswagen)

Other clever features inside include a sliding centre console, a rail in front of the passenger to attach a shelf to or a tablet device, while the infotainment screen in the centre of the car has separate buttons below it for heating and entertainment volume. And true to Thomas Schäfer’s word, the steering wheel features proper buttons rather than touch-sensitive pads, in response to customer feedback.

Speaking about how the new small car will sit in VW’s range, Schäfer said, “The ID. Every1 is the last piece of the puzzle on our journey to having the widest model selection in the volume segment. We will then offer every customer the right car with the right drive system – including affordable entry-level, all-electric mobility.”

The production version of the ID. Every1 is part of Volkswagen’s electric relaunch, planned as part of an agreement made at the end of last year with the company’s workforce. Binding targets and the agreed plans form the foundation for future projects, and Volkswagen is targeting three key areas of change: it has promised to strengthen competitiveness, expand the existing model range with nine new models by 2027 and aim to become the technologically leading high-volume manufacturer with what it claims will be the safest, most innovative and best-selling cars by 2030.