it's winking at me Volkswagen gets the message: Cheap, stylish EVs coming from 2026 VW is preparing new front-wheel-drive EVs, the ID. 2all and ID. EVERY1. Jonathan M. Gitlin Mar 5, 2025 1:00 pm | 47 In two years, this small electric Volkswagen will go on sale, for less than 20,000 ($21,338). In Europe, at least. Credit: Volkswagen In two years, this small electric Volkswagen will go on sale, for less than 20,000 ($21,338). In Europe, at least. Credit: Volkswagen Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA surprise find in my inbox this morning: news from Volkswagen about a pair of new electric vehicles it has in the works. Even better, they're both small and affordable, bucking the supersized, overpriced trend of the past few years. But before we get too excited, there's currently no guarantee either will go on sale in North America.Next year sees the European debut of the ID. 2all, a small electric hatchback that VW wants to sell for less than 25,000 euros ($26,671). But the ID. 2all isn't really news: VW showed off the concept, as well as a GTI version, back in September 2023.What is new is the ID. EVERY1, an all-electric entry-level car that, if the concept is anything to go by, is high on style and charm. It does not have a retro shape like a Mini or Fiat 500VW could easily have succumbed to a retread of the Giugiaro-styled Golf from 1976 but opted for something new instead. The design language involves three pillars: stability, likability, and surprise elements, or "secret sauce," according to VW's description. The ID. EVERY1 is the antithesis of the giant SUVs and trucks that have come out of Detroit these past few years. "The widely flared wheelarches over the large 19-inch wheels and the athletic and clearly designed surfaces of the silhouette ensure stability," said VW head of design Andreas Mindt, confirming the inability of modern designers to stay away from huge wheels."The slightly cheeky smile at the front is a particularly likable feature. A secret sauce element is the roof drawn in the middle, usually seen on sports cars. All these design elements lend the ID. EVERY1 a charismatic identity with which people can identify," Mindt said.It really is a small carat 152.8 inches (3,880 mm) long, it's much shorter than the smallest car VW sells here in the US, the Golf GTI, which is a still-diminutive 168.8 inches (4,288 mm) in length. Like the slightly bigger ID. 2allwhich is still much shorter than a Golf), the ID. EVERY1 will use a new front-wheel drive version of VW's modular MEB platform. (Initially introduced for rear- or all-wheel-drive EVs, MEB underpins cars like the ID.4 crossover and ID. Buzz bus.)The interior is more Polo-sized than Up (which will make little sense to most American readers, since neither comes to North America), with plenty of recycled materials like PET and a removable center console, similar to the Buzz. VW says it listened to its customers when it designed this car. I hope that means there won't be a capacitive steering wheel. Volkswagen VW says it listened to its customers when it designed this car. I hope that means there won't be a capacitive steering wheel. Volkswagen It's less than 4 m long. Volkswagen It's less than 4 m long. Volkswagen This is the ID. GTI concept, which VW should also really consider importing in 2026. Volkswagen This is the ID. GTI concept, which VW should also really consider importing in 2026. Volkswagen It's less than 4 m long. Volkswagen This is the ID. GTI concept, which VW should also really consider importing in 2026. Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 design sketches. Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 design sketches. Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 design sketches. Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 design sketches. Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 design sketches. Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 design sketches. Volkswagen "The ID. EVERY1 represents the last piece of the puzzle on our way to the widest model selection in the volume segment," said VW Group board member and VW CEO Thomas Schfer. "We will then offer every customer the right car with the right drive systemincluding affordable, all-electric entry-level mobility. Our goal is to be the worlds technologically leading high-volume manufacturer by 2030."With a starting price of less than 20,000 euros ($21,338) when it goes on sale in 2027, the company is evidently serious about affordability. Just don't expect too much in terms of technical specs; the outputs here reflect the price point. There's a newly developed 94 hp (70 kW) motor, and while VW isn't giving a battery capacity for the concept, it says it has a range of "at least 155 miles" (250 km), although that's almost certainly with the more generous European WLTP test in mind.Which brings me to the elephant in the room: Nothing in the press materials VW sent us make any indication that the ID. EVERY1 will be imported to North America, and the brand is previously on record as saying that the ID. 2all isn't coming here, either.Margins on small EVs aren't nearly as good as more expensive ones, and both small cars and EVs remain niche choices for American car buyers, which so far has made OEMs reticent to import their smallest EVs, like that very cool Honda e. And that's without the uncertainty of a president who looks ready to start more trade wars. We asked the automaker if there was a chance the ID. EVERY1 would come to the US, but it said that was "highly unlikely."That's not a definite no, but it's also pretty far from even a "maybe," so don't plan on being able to place an order for an ID. EVERY1 in 2027 at a US VW dealership. But with two years between now and then, that's plenty of time for people to try to change VW's mind. If you do drop them a note, you may as well tell them we need that electric ID. GTI, too.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 47 Comments