Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Last week, the German car giant Volkswagen unveiled its ID. EVERY1 concept car, the first model to use electric architecture jointly developed with the U.S. EV maker Rivian.
When unveiling the concept mode, the company said it would be priced at around €20,000 ($21,000) when arriving in the European market in 2027 while not revealing where it would be produced in Europe.
According to a report by automotive news outlet Razão Automóvel on Monday, the carmaker has selected its Autoeuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal, to produce the ID. Every1.
The plant will manufacture the vehicle for key European markets, including Germany, France, Spain, among others.
Volkswagen spokesperson Greta Höhne, responsible for the ID.1 and ID.2 projects, said the company will officially announce the decision later Monday, with CEO Thomas Schäfer expected to make the announcement at an event ahead of the automaker’s annual results presentation.
Volkswagen aims to introduce nine new electric models by 2027, including the ID.2All later this year, refreshed versions of the ID.3, ID.4, and ID.5, as well as an SUV and a GTI variant of the ID.2All.
As reported in January, the Group’s core brand is pushing back its profitability target as doubts grow among some board members about whether recently agreed cost-cutting measures will be sufficient.
The carmaker had previously aimed for a 6.5% profit margin at its core passenger car brand by the end of 2026 but now expects to reach that goal in “three to four years.” The brand’s margin currently stands at around 2%.
Volkswagen AG, where the core brand accounts for the bulk of operations, plans to cut 35,000 jobs through voluntary departures and reduce capacity at its German plants by the end of the decade as part of a €15 billion annual savings plan.
In the third quarter of 2024, the German group’s operating profit dropped to 2.86 billion euros ($2.95 billion), while sales revenue declined 0.5% year-over-year to approximately 78.5 billion euros.
Only two months after Volkswagen officially set the joint venture with the U.S. EV maker Rivian on software and technology, the German car giant is already looking into expanding it to new areas.
After a failed investment in Cariad, the Volkswagen group will use Rivian‘s software and technology while the California-based EV startup continues to prepare for the launch of its R2 and R3 models.