Volkswagen will reportedly restart production of the fully electric e-Up since the demand for cheaper EVs is on the rise and the upcoming ID.2 is not coming before 2025.
The automaker stopped producing the e-Up! in 2020 – alongside the Skoda Citigoᵉ iV sibling – only a year after updating it with a bigger battery. German media reported that the model was not designed to be produced in high volumes. Also, Volkswagen had to sell it at a big discount as part of the EV incentives, making it not profitable enough. The production freeze caused long waiting times that were increased up to 16 months.
Read Also: All We Know About The VW ID.2 Coming In 2025 With A €20k Base Price
As reported by Automobilwoche, dealers in Germany have already started gathering orders. The final price for the Style Plus trim will be around €17,000 after adding up the government incentives (€26,500 list price) which is slightly higher than before but low enough to make it accessible to the average buyer.
The comeback of the model will be welcomed by European buyers who witness a surge in the new car prices and don’t really have many options in terms of affordable EVs. Similarly-sized electric models include the Fiat 500 and the smart EQ fortwo.
The VW e-Up! was introduced back in 2013, with a facelift introduced in 2016 and a more significant update in 2019 which included a larger battery. While the original model had an electric range of 160 km (100 miles), the later version of the e-Up offered an increased driving range of up to 260 km (161 miles) thanks to its bigger battery pack.
Volkswagen is already working on the all-new ID.2 based on a shrunken version of the MEB platform. However, the production version of the ID.Life concept is not expected before 2025 so the return of the e-Up! will cover at least some of the gap.
