AUTONEWS

VW uses Renault's help for an EV under €20,000

Volkswagen is eagerly looking for a partner to help it achieve its goal of launching an electric vehicle on the market for less than €20,000. This is stated by the German publication Handelsblatt, traditionally very well informed about everything related to German industry and economy. The publication also states that this help to produce a cheap tram will come from the French company Renault.

It should be remembered that, recently, Renault confirmed the launch of the R5 in 2024, a battery-powered utility model that will hit the market for €25,000, also announcing that it would propose, from 2026, the Twingo for €20,000 (and with consumption very reduced), another model from the French brand's past that, like the R5, returns to stands in 100% electric mode. Along the way, the Gallic manufacturer also announced that it had reached an agreement with Google and the chip manufacturer Qualcomm for the development of software and hardware that allows controlling the entire vehicle and not just the infotainment system, with the aim of selling this new system and software to other builders. Interestingly, the Volkswagen Group is one of those that seems to need effective software the most.

Aware that it will not be easy to place an electric model on the market for €25,000, much less for just €20,000, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Oliver Blume, admitted in November that it will not be viable to manufacture trams for these values without giving up the profitability. Therefore, it came as no great surprise when the Handelsblatt article stated that the German brand is looking for a partner that can achieve this objective. The publication advances even though Volkswagen has already established preliminary talks with Renault.

The German manufacturer refused to comment on the news, but Renault told Reuters that cooperation between manufacturers is essential to be successful in the segment of small, affordable electric vehicles. He also confirmed that there are conversations with different interested parties, but that nothing has been finalized so far.

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