The Volkswagen e-Up! Returns

The Volkswagen Up! is a diminutive city car that first appeared in 2012. The e-Up! battery-electric version was introduced a year later. In 2020, Volkswagen stopped accepting new orders for its smallest electric car, citing an order backlog. That’s part of the story. The other part is the company wanted to focus more on its ID. battery-electric cars. The fact that it lost money on every e Up! it sold didn’t help either.

But now, the order backlog has been cleared. In fact, Volkswagen quietly sold 30,800 copies of the e-Up! in Germany last year, making it the second best-selling electric car in the country. German customers can now order the Style Plus version of the e-Up! This is no strippo, bargain basement version. According to a company press release, “Among other standard features, the model comes with a CCS charging plug for rapid charging, the Lane Assist lane departure warning system, Climatronic air conditioning, a leather-trimmed multifunction steering wheel and 15-inch ‘Blade’ alloy wheels.”

Here are more specs, courtesy of Inside EVs:

• up to 258 km (160 miles) of WLTP range — energy consumption (combined): 127 Wh/km (204 Wh/mile)
• Battery capacity: 32.2 kWh usable, 350 V battery system
• 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 11.9 seconds
• top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph)
• front-wheel drive
• electric motor: 61 kW (82 hp) at 2750-11000 rpm, torque — 210 Nm at 2750 rpm
• AC charging: up to 80% SOC in “a little over four hours” using 7.2 kW on-board charger
• DC fast charging: up to 80% SOC in 60 minutes (40 kW DC Combo 2)
• curb weight: 1,248 kg, total weight: 1,530 kg

How Much Does The e-Up! Cost?

Any sales professional will tell you, the three questions customers want to answers to the most are, the price, the price, and the price. The answer is €26,895 in Germany, including VAT. Subtract the €9,570 electric car “environmental and innovation” subsidy available through the end of 2022 — of which the manufacturer pays a third — and the net price is €17,325. Electrive suggests the e-Up! is back in play primarily to compete with the Dacia Spring, the cute little crossover that can be had for as little as €11,500 in its most basic form.

Volkswagen says its orders for the e-Up are open now for customers in Germany, with those living in other European countries able to place their orders later this year.