It’s Pretty Easy To Announce an EV in 2023 — Maybe Too Easy

A couple weeks ago, Volkswagen released a new car concept, the “ID.2 all.” The vehicle, which I’m going to sometimes just refer to as the ID.2 so that it’s easier to read in a paragraph, and to avoid confusion with the “all” part, is supposed to come in at under $25,000. That’s great news, but there’s one big catch with the concept that another automotive manufacturing company pointed out in a hilarious way.

First, I’m going to share more about the ID.2, but feel free to scroll down a section to see what the catch is, or if you already know about the ID.2 concept.

The ID. 2all Concept Is All To All

Volkswagen says it is pushing the boundaries of electric mobility with its compact cars, especially now that it has introduced the ID.2 concept car at a cost of below 25,000 euros. This new all-electric vehicle from Volkswagen has the potential to revolutionize the automotive industry and exemplifies the brand’s commitment to providing innovative and sustainable solutions for personal transportation.

VW didn’t actually show us a car, but figured that giving us “a first glimpse” was better than making us wait. But, that doesn’t mean the company doesn’t have lots of numbers and figures to go with the images.

The all-electric Volkswagen ID.2all concept car boasts impressive features such as front-wheel drive, up to 450 km range, innovative technological features like Travel Assist, IQ.LIGHT, and Electric Vehicle Route Planner, as well as a unique design language. It will be produced on the MEB Entry platform and is set to join the other nine electric vehicles that Volkswagen will launch by 2026.

“We are transforming the company rapidly and fundamentally — with the clear objective of making Volkswagen a genuine Love Brand.” said Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars. “The ID. 2all shows where we want to take the brand. We want to be close to the customer and offer top technology in combination with fantastic design. We are implementing the transformation at pace to bring electric mobility to the masses.”

Powered by the MEB Entry platform with enhanced drive, battery, and charging technology, the Volkswagen ID.2 will come equipped with a powerful electric drive motor delivering 166 kW/226 PS of output. It promises impressive range performance too, with a WLTP range of up to 450 kilometers.

The Volkswagen ID.2all concept car features an innovative interpretation of the C-pillar design developed for the first Golf, as part of its new design language. Other elements include a body with a powerful stance on the wheels, a friendly face, dynamic styling, and (according to VW) timeless elegance.

This year Volkswagen will launch the world-renowned ID.3, the ID.Buzz with long wheelbase, and the ID.7 — three of a total of ten electric models that will be introduced by 2026. In spite of all the challenges, Volkswagen is also working on an electric car at a price of less than 20,000 euros to offer customers the widest range of electric vehicles when compared to its competitors. The company is aiming for an impressive electric car share of 80% in Europe — up from its previous aspiration of 70%.

‌

This Announcement Inspired Another Manufacturer to Get Into Cars, Too

After seeing Volkswagen’s announcement, the people at Jowua, an EV accessories manufacturer based out of Taiwan, were so moved by it that they decided to get into EVs, too! Let’s have a look at their announcement:

I decided to reach out to them, and ask them about the Renda, which I assumed was pronounced like “run dah” (based on my knowledge of Mandarin). But, it turned out I was wrong about this. The correct pronunciation of Renda is like “render,” but with “uh” at the end, kind of like when hip hop artists say say “rapper” or a British person says “proper.”

In other words, the car is called “Render,” because that’s all they have done. “The post was a jab at VW,” they explained to me when I asked. “They “launched” a car yesterday by just providing some renderings, so we did just the same for fun.”

For most people, who don’t know that Taiwan is a major manufacturing hub, and that Foxconn is going to make new vehicles a lot easier, this joke probably jumped right out at them. I found it somewhat believable at first because it was plausible.

The Bad News About VW’s ID.2 Render-Release

The fact that I fell for the Jowua prank announcement at first and had to have the joke explained to me does show a problem in the industry. If you could hire some graphic designers and 3D animators to create a virtual car for you, and the announcement seems believable and even credible, then anybody could do this.

In fact, we’ve seen this. A number of very cool car concepts from smaller companies have come out in recent years, promising some very cool EVs. A great example would be Alpha Motor Corporation, which has been telling us for years about its amazing upcoming EVs.

While I absolutely love the company’s renderings and would definitely buy at least one of their vehicles, nobody has been able to find anything to show that the company is going to build an actual EV. There are no suppliers lined up that we know of, no sources of money, no facilities bought or leased, and just about nothing else. Sadly, after years, the automotive press is thinking it might be vaporware.

The only thing that keeps us from thinking the VW announcement is BS is the credibility of the company. They’ve actually made not only a bunch of vehicles, but several EVs now. They have a proven track record of producing vehicles, and the ID.2 is definitely within the company’s reach.

But, with all of the renderings that float about on the internet, and the fact that even Tesla can make a real prototype vehicle to display on stage and not release it for years, adds up to consumer skepticism.

Volkswagen should probably avoid releasing renderings and not concept vehicles so they don’t feed this problem lower in the industry.

Featured image by Volkswagen.