The reveal event of a new car is organized down to the smallest detail, especially when you’ve been in the car-making game as long as Volkswagen has. There’s no room for hiccups when rolling out what could be a vital model for the company’s future. Although the ID. Every1 concept’s premiere went as planned, the choice of song playing in the background left us wondering: ironic coincidence or a discreet moment of honesty?
In the video below, you can hear “Under Pressure” starting at the 3:20 mark. Of all the songs VW could have chosen, it went with the iconic 1981 track co-created by Queen and David Bowie. Curiously, the German automaker conveniently left out the part when Freddie Mercury and David Bowie sing the song’s title during the chorus. The music is also played in the background near the end of the event, from 26:10, but this time without any lyrics.
Volkswagen stands for the “people’s car,” but the company’s electric efforts have mainly focused on more expensive EVs. The ID.3 starts at €33,330 ($36,000) in Germany, so it’s not exactly affordable. Sure, there was the e-up! but the diminutive city car was retired years ago, despite being a huge hit. At one point, delivery times rose to 16 months, forcing VW to stop accepting new orders so that it could clear the backlog.
Better late than never, the ID.Every1 concept previews a spiritual successor. However, it won’t come out in 2027 when the ID.1 hits the market. VW’s focus on larger, more expensive models in pursuit of higher profits left it trailing behind the competition—not just against rising Chinese automakers with their affordable EVs but also against traditional brands. Renault, for example, is pushing ahead with the 5 supermini and an even cheaper Twingo set to launch in 2026.
VW now feels under pressure (pun intended) but wants to get its act together with the ID.1. It’ll cost around €20,000 and will go on sale about a year after the €25,000 ID.2. The latter will also spawn hot hatch and crossover derivatives. Prices include value-added tax (VAT), which can be as high as 27% in Hungary. The average VAT in the EU is nearly 22%. These small and relatively cheap EVs seem unlikely to make it to America.
The new front-wheel-drive MEB platform underpinning the ID.1 and ID.2 will also be used by two additional models scheduled to come out by 2027. VW is playing catch-up, trying to ease the pressure from intensifying competition in the EV market. An even more significant challenge lies ahead later this decade when the ninth-generation Golf debuts as an all-electric model.
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