The I.D. range will premiere the new Modular Electric
Toolkit (MEB) from a new factory dedicated to building this fully electric
platform. The first model will be the compact ID; this is to be produced from
the end of 2019 at the Zwickau plant, which is currently being transformed into
the highest-performance electric car factory in Europe. The scale of production
is expected to be enormous. As part of its “Electric for All” campaign, the
Volkswagen brand aims to sell 150,000 electric cars by the end of 2020. Cost
reduction on MEB will come not just from volume production and scale of economy
improving the cost of batteries (which account for 40% of an EV’s total cost),
but by paring down costs throughout the vehicle. Costs in other areas of an MEB
vehicle will be half that of the existing e-Golf.