In the future, Volkswagen may have a pretty affordable electric vehicle offering in its lineup. According to Reuters, the automaker is working on a pure electric car around the size of a Polo under a project that the company calls “Small BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle).” The publication says Volkswagen is developing the vehicle for the mass market “in anticipation of tougher climate regulations” and that the car will cost anywhere between US$24,000 and US$30,000.

That price point would make it more affordable than the ID.3 and the upcoming ID.4 and would make it a direct competitor to one of Tesla’s upcoming models. During its “Battery Day” event in September, Tesla said it’s making changes that would halve the costs of building battery cells for its vehicles. That would allow it to push forward with its plans to build a US$25,000 EV within the next three years.

Volkswagen announced earlier that it is putting aside a bigger portion of its overall investment budget for digital and electric vehicle technologies. It originally planned to pour US$72 billion into electric and self-driving vehicle development over the next five years, but it increased that figure to US$86 billion. Both the bigger investment and the development of an affordable electric vehicle could help the company offer 300 EV models by 2030.

(SD-Agencies)