Automotive News Europe — 2023-12-08
Automotive Industry
Volkswagen is speaking with potential partners, including Renault, about cooperating on the development of a 20,000-euro ($21,476) electric car, a German business paper reported.
VW is interested in cooperating on a platform for the car that it hopes will make battery-powered vehicles affordable for the masses, Handelsblatt reported.
Talks with Renault are still "at a very early stage" and could come to nothing, Handelsblatt reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Annual production of 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles is the target for both partners, the paper said.
VW laid out the details in March of an all-electric car under development for 25,000, to launch by 2025 with a 450 km (279 mile) range and a battery charging from 10% to 80% in around 20 minutes.
VW said at the time it was also working on a €20,000 vehicle, but did not provide further information.
Twingo low-cost EV
Last month Renault CEO Luca de Meo, a former VW Group executive, said the French automaker will launch the next-generation Twingo hatchback as a full-electric city car in 2026 with a price of less than €20,000.
De Meo showed the model to investors at a capital markets day for Ampere, Renault's EV spinoff.
European automakers are accelerating their plans to bring affordable electric cars to market in response to new entrants from China. The average retail price of an EV in Europe in the first half of 2023 was over €65,000, according to autos research firm JATO Dynamics, compared to just over €31,000 in China.
A Renault spokesperson said that cooperation was necessary to be competitive with small-entry electric vehicles.
"We are in different discussions but nothing has been finalized," the spokesperson said.
VW declined to comment on the report.