Volkswagen took the wraps off its first electric vehicle bearing the GTI nameplate at the IAA Munich 2023 motor show, and there are more to come.
Based on the yet-to-be-released ID.2, due in 2025 with a starting price of €25,000 (A$41,772), the ID. GTI concept previews a hot version due in 2027.
Speaking with media at the show, Volkswagen head of design Andreas Mindt was eager to share that this won’t be the only time we see the GTI branding on an electric Volkswagen product and that Volkswagen had a price target for this platform.
“Yes. Yes. We will see it go to other cars. Yes, yes, yes. Here it is connected to the drivetrain. Sometimes you have four wheel drive, you have the engine in the front in this case. Everything is in the front. And there’s a reason for it…to make it easy to produce. And then we can achieve the goal which is 25,000 US and EUR. That was our big goal,” he said.
When asked whether the GTI name would only be limited to front-wheel drive vehicles and whether we’d see more electric models with GTI branding, Mindt confirmed there’s more on the horizon.
“It won’t be in SUVs…but I would say yes [we will see more GTI cars], it really fits to the concept of this car and the car’s very efficient because all the components are in the front and it frees up space in the rear and you have a double layer trunk, which is huge,” he said.
“You can you can pop it up and then you can place two crates of beer down… And the people will discover that and they will love it.”
Volkswagen has a huge amount of heritage behind a number of its brands and models, such as GTI, so it looks like we’ll see more and more of these brands being transformed from internal combustion to electric.
Equally, Volkswagen will keep producing internal combustion cars while there is demand – the brand hasn’t drawn a line in the sand for ending ICE production.
Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume confirmed to journalists that the company is committed to diverse technology and engine options moving forward.
“And I’m convinced that electric technology, it will be more competitive than combustion engine cars, but the ramp up curve…is a ramp up curve,” Blume said.
“And I think we will be in the transformation at least for the next 10 years or more, and therefore we are offering a mix of technologies. Successful combustion engine cars, hybrid and electric mobility with a strong ramp up curve.”
